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IOWA 







HOOL' LAWS. 



TEACHERS' AND OFFICERS' EDITION, 



Official Notes, Decisions and Forms; Di- 
gest of Supreme Court Decisions 
and Attorney General's 
Opinions. 



FULLY INDEXED WITH APPENDIX. 



POMPIT.^D c5Y 



CHICAGO: 

Northwestern School Supply Company. Publishers. 



to 



84- 



Dediqated 



SKF 10 



m. 









wa. ^A€. <Jhand4. 



COPYRIGHT, 1884, 
BY ED. M. RANDS. 



OTTAWA* PRINTING CO., 64 & &6 FRANKLIN STREET, CHICAGO. 



s 



P^EFAQE. 




^gl^AKE perfect the law, for wrongs will be done under 
the best laws, and greater ones under those not 
clearly understood. Teachers and School Officers have 
felt the necessity for a better knowledge of the Law, 
and lawyers have held themselves aloof from any 
connection with suits involving questions of School 
Law. Since, to simplify the Law is not possible, it 
only remains to explain those parts that are shrouded in doubt. 
This Book contains a great deal of matter that has never 
before appeared in print, having been locked in the archives 
of the State Departments. This matter covers the entire 
range of School Law, being the gist of the interpretations and 
explanations of judicial officers, who have had to do with the 
deciding of test cases. 

In the selection and arrangement of the matter herein con- 
tained, care has been taken to present only such as clearly 
tends to simplify the Law. 

The Department Notes have not the force of law. yet serve 
as a safe guide The Supreme Court decisions and the Attor- 
ney General's opinions, being the interpretations of law, have 
nearly the force of the law itself. The Appendix affords a 
concise statement of the force of law in general, on the most 
important points, and will be found of great value. The Index 
will be found a means of ready reference. The Notes are not 
indexed as they can be referred to by section, in connection 
with the body of the law. 

THe PiJbLisHe^s. 

Chicago, III., September 1, 1884. 




Table of Contents. 



PART I. 



THE LAW .... 

PART II. 

DEPARTMENT NOTES 

PART III. 

DEPARTMENT DECISIONS 

PART IV. 

ATTORNEY GENERALS' OPINIONS 

PART V. 

SUPREME COURT DECISIONS 



PAGE 

5 



70 



127 



175 



185 



PART VI. 



FORMS 



195 



PART VII. 



APPENDIX 



209 




SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 



J'rom The Code As Amended By The Fifteenth, 
Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Nine- 
teenth and Twentieth General 
Assemblies. 

SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

Section 1713. Each civil township now or hereafter 
organized, and each independent school district organized 
as such prior to the taking effect of this code, is hereby 
declared a school district for all the purposes of this chap- 
ter, subject to the provisions hereinafter made. 

Sec. 1714. When an organized district has been left 
without officers, the township trustees shall give such 
notice for a special election of directors as is required in 
cases of regular district elections ; and the persons elected 
shall continue in office until their successors are duly elected 
and qualified.— 41 Iowa, 30 ; 53 Iowa, 663 ; 53 Iowa, 667. 

Sec. 1715. When changes in civil township boun- 
daries are made, or any district shall be divided into two 
or more entire townships for civil purposes, the existing 
board of directors shall continue to act for both or all the 
new districts, or parts of districts, until the next regular 
district election thereafter, at which time the new district 
townships shall organize by the election of directors. 
The respective boards of directors shall, immediately 
after such organization, make an equitable division of 
the then existing assets and liabilities between the old 
and new districts ; and in case of a failure to agree, the 
matter may be decided by arbitrators, chosen by the 
parties in interest. A similar division shall be made in 



6 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

case of the formation or changes of boundaries of in- 
dependent districts. — 43 Iowa, 444 ; 41 Ioiva, 321 ; 36 
loiva, 216 ; 45 Iowa, 104 and'd^l ; 54 Iowa, 286 ; 45 Iowa, 
391 ; 17 Iowa, 16 ; 37 Iowa, 542. 

Sec. 1716. Every school district which is now, or may 
hereafter be organized, is hereby made a body corporate 
by the name of the " district township," or " independent 

district," (as the case may be,) of in the 

county of , and in that name may hold 

property, become a party to suits and contracts, and do 
other corporate acts. 

DISTRICT TOWNSHIP MEETING. 

Sec. 1717. (As amended by Chap. 51, Laws of 1882.) 
Each district township shall hold an annual meeting on 
the second Monday in March, and the electors of the dis- 
trict, when legally assembled at such meeting, shall have 
the following powers : 

1. To appoint a chairman and secretary, in the 
absence of the regular officers ; 

2. To direct the sale or other disposition to be made 
of any school- house, or the site thereof, and of such other 
property, personal and real, as may belong to the district ; 
to direct the manner in which the proceeds arising there- 
from shall be applied ; to determine what additional 
branches shall be taught in the schools of the district; or 
to delegate any of these powers to the board of directors ; 
" and to authorize the board of directors to obtain, at the 
expense of the district township, such highways as such 
board may deem necessary for proper access to the 
school-houses in their districts." 

3. To vote such tax, not exceeding ten mills on the 
dollar in any one year, on the taxable property of the 
district township, as the meeting shall deem sufficient 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 7 

for the purchase of grounds and the construction of the 
necessary school-houses, for the use of the district, and 
for the payment of any debts contracted for the erection 
of school-houses, and for procuring district libraries, 
u and for obtaining highways for access to school- 
houses." 

4. To instruct the board of directors to transfer any 
surplus in the school-house fund, not appropriated, to 
either the contingent or teachers' fund. — 35 loiua, 194 ; 
50 Iowa, 648 ; 55 Iowa,. 606 ; 44 Iowa, 564 ; 50 Iowa, 11 ; 
35 Iowa, 104 ; 41 Iowa, 153 ; 25 Iowa, 436 ; 28 Iowa, 
332 ; 25 Iowa, 448; 47 Iowa, 11. 

Sec. 1?17£. (Ohap. 84 Laws of 1880.) Whenaschool 
district, by fire or otherwise, has been deprived of a school 
building, and the board of directors of such district by 
the use of the powers in them vested, are unable to pro- 
vide for the continuance of the school therein ; then such 
board of directors shall call a meeting of such district. 
The manner of calling: such meeting shall be as follows : 

1. The board of directors shall cause to be posted in 
three public places in such district, at least ten days prior 
to the designated time of holding such meeting, written 
notices of such meeting, in which shall be stated the 
time and place of such meeting, and the object or purpose 
for which the same is called : 

2. The powers of such meeting shall be the same as is 
prescribed in section 171? hereof, except those powers 
which are set forth in paragraph 2, after the word 
" applied" in the fifth line thereof, and in paragraph 3, 
after the word " district " in the fifth line thereof. 

SUBDISTRICT MEETING. 

Sec. 1718. The several subdistricts shall, annually, on 
the first Monday in March, hold a meeting for the elec- 



8 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

tion of a subdirector, five days' notice of which meeting 
shall be given by the then resident subdirectory or, if there 
is none, by the district secretary, posting a written notice 
in three public places therein, and such notice shall state 
the hour of meeting, 48 Iowa, 157; 50 Iowa, 11. 

Sec. 1719. (As amended by Chap. 7, Laws of 1880.) 
At the meeting of the subdistrict a chairman and secre- 
tary shall be appointed, who shall act as judges of the 
election, and give a certificate of election to the subdi- 
rector elect. When there is a tie vote between two persons 
for the office of subdirector the secretary shall notify the 
secretary of the district township board of such tie vote, 
and shall notify said persons to appear at the regular 
meeting of the board on the third Monday in March, to 
determine the tie vote by lot before one or more members 
of the board elected, and the certificate of election shall 
be given accordingly. Should either party fail to appear, 
or take part in the lot, the secretary shall draw for him. 
37 Iowa, 131. 

Sec. 1720. In all district townships comprising but 
one subdistrict the board of directors shall consist of three 
subdirectors. and in all district townships comprising but 
two subdistricts it shall consist of one subdirector chosen 
from each subdistrict and one from the district township 
at large, who shall in both cases be elected in the manner 
provided by law for the election of one subdirector from 
each subdistrict. The judges of the respective subdistrict 
elections shall canvass the votes for subdirector chosen 
from the district township at large, and shall issue a cer- 
tificate of election to the person elected. 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

Seo. 1721. (As amended by Chap. 27, Laws of 1874.) 
The subdirectors of the several subdistricts shall constitute 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 



a board of directors for the district township, and shall en- 
ter upon their duties upon the day fixed for the regular 
meeting of the board in March at which time they shall 
organize by electing from their own number a president, 
who shall simply be entitled to a vote as a member of the 
board ; and from the district township at large, at their 
regular meeting on the third Monday of September in 
each year, a secretary and a treasurer, unless there are at 
least five subdirectors in the district township, in which 
case they may be selected from the board ; and said secre- 
tary and treasurer thus elected shall qualify and enter 
upon the duties of their respective offices within ten days 
following the date of their election. If selected from the 
district township at large they shall have no vote in the 
proceedings of the board. 

Sec. 1722. (As amended by Chap. 176, Laws of 
1880.) The board of directors shall hold their regular 
meetings on the third Monday in March and September of 
each year ; and may hold such special meetings as oc- 
casion may require, at the call of the president, or by 
request of a majority of the board ; provided, that the 
board of directors of a district township may hold their 
meetings at any place within the civil or district town- 
ship in which such district township is situated. 

Sec. 1723. They shall make all contracts, purchases, 
payments, and sales necessary to carry out any vote of 
the district ; but before erecting any school-house they 
shall consult with the county superintendent as to the 
most approved plan of such building. And ail school- 
houses erected or repaired at a cost exceeding $300 shall 
be so erected or repaired by contract, and no such contract 
for labor or materials shall be let until proposals for the 
same shall have been invited by advertisement for four 
weeks in some newspaper published in the county when, 



10 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

the worls is to be done, if there he one published therein, 
if not, in the nearest newspaper in an adjoining county; 
and such contract shall be let to the lowest responsible 
bidder, and bonds with sufficient sureties for the faithful 
performance of the contract shall be required. — 25 loioa, 
436 ; 28 Iowa, 332 ; 51 Iowa, 350 ; 51 Iowa, 432 ; 35 Iowa, 
462 ; 50 Iowa, 648. 

Sec. 1724. They shall fix the site for each school- 
house taking into consideration the geographical position 
and convenience of the people of each portion of the sub- 
district, and shall determine what number of schools 
shall be taught in each subdistrict, and for what addi- 
tional time beyond the period required by law they shall 
be continued during each year. — 23 Ioioa, 408. 

Sec 1725. (As amended by Chap. 109, Laws of 1876.) 
They shall determine where pupils may attend school, 
and for this purpose may divide their district into such 
subdistricts as may by them be deemed necessary; pro- 
vided, that no such subdistrict shall be created for the 
accommodation of less than fifteen pupils, but the board 
of directors shall have power to rent a room and employ 
a teacher for the accommodation of any five scholars ; 
provided further, that nothing in this chapter contained 
shall be construed to prohibit the construction of as many 
school-houses, out of moneys derived from taxes levied 
previous to January 1, 1876, in any subdistrict where the 
subdistrict comprises the entire district township, as shall 
have been authorized and provided for at the annual 
meeting of the district township electors. 

Sec. 1726. They may establish graded or union 
schools wherever they may be necessary, and may select 
a person who shall have the general supervision of the 
schools in their district, subject to the rules and regula- 
tions of the board. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 11 

Sec. 1727. In each subdistrict, there shall be taught 
one or more schools for the instruction of the youth 
between the ages of five and twenty-one yeais, for at least 
twenty-four weeks, of five school-days each, in each year, 
unless the county superintendent shall be satisfied that 
there is good and sufficient cause for failure so to do. 
Any person who was in the military service of the United 
States during his minority shall be admitted into the 
schools in the subdistrict in which he may reside, on the 
same terms on which youths between the ages of five and 
twenty-one are admitted. — 24 Iowa, 2b' 6; 40 Iowa, 518; 
40 Iowa, 369; 45 Iowa, 248; 47 Iowa, 11; 49 Iowa, 231. 

Sec. 1728. The board of directors of any district town- 
ship or independent district shall not order, or direct, or 
make any change in the school books or series of text- 
books used in any school under their superintendence, 
direction, or control, more than once in every period of 
three years, except by a vote of the electors of the district 
township or independent district. 25 Iowa, 447. 

Sec. 1729. They may use any unappropriated con- 
tingent fund in the treasury to purchase records, diction- 
aries, maps, charts, and apparatus for the use of the 
schools of their district, but shall contract no debts for 
this purpose. 44 Iowa, 564; 51 Iowa, 350. 

Sec. 1730. They shall appoint a temporary president 
and secretary in case of the absence of the regular officers, 
and shall fill any vacancy that may occur in the office of 
president, secretary, or treasury, or in the board of direct- 
ors. 

Sec. 1731. They shall require the secretary and treas- 
urer to give bonds to the district in such penalty and 
with such security as they may deem necessary to secure 
the district against loss, conditioned for the faithful per- 
formance of their official duties. The bonds shall be 



12 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

filed with the president, and in case of a breach of the 
conditions thereof he shall bring suit thereon in the name 
of the district township or independent district. 3? Iowa, 
55O;39/0W«, 9. 

Sec. 1732. They shall from time to time, examine the 
accounts of the treasurer and make settlement with him ; 
and shall present, at each regular meeting of the electors 
of the district township, a full statement of the receipts 
and expenditures of the district township, and such other 
information as may be deemed important. 39 Iowa, 471- 

Sec. 1733. They shall audit and allow all just claims 
against the district, and fix the compensation of the secre- 
tary and treasurer, and no order shall be drawn on the 
treasury until the claim for which it is drawn has been 
audited and allowed. 39 Iowa, 490. 

Sec. 1734. They shall visit the schools in their distric^ 
and aid the teachers in establishing and enforcing the 
rules for the government of the schools, and see that they 
keep a correct list of the pupils, embracing the periods 
of time during which they have attended school, the 
branches taught, and such other matters as may be re- 
quired by the county superintendent. In case a teacher 
employed in any of the schools of the district township 
is found to be incompetent, or is guilty of partiality or 
dereliction in the discharge of his duties, or for any other 
sufficient cause shown, the board of directors may, 
after a full and fair investigation of the facts of the case, 
at a meeting convened for the purpose, at which the 
teacher shall be permitted to be present and make his 
defense, discharge him. — 42 Iowa, 522 ; 53 Iowa, 585. 

Sec. 1735. The majority of the board in independent 
districts shall have power, with the concurrence of the 
president of the board of directors, to dismiss or suspend 
any pupils from the school in their district for gross 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 18 

immorality or for a persistent violation of the regulations 
or rules of the school and to re-admit them if they deem it 
proper so to do. — 30 Iowa, 429 ; 31 Ioica, 562. 

Sec. 1736. They shall, at their regular meeting in 
March of each year, require the secretary to file 
with the county superintendent, county auditor, and 
county treasurer, each, a certificate of the election, quali- 
fication, and post-office address of the president, treas- 
urer, and secretary of the district township, and to advise 
them from time to time of any changes made in said 
offices by appointment. 

Sec. 1737. They shall make such rules and regula- 
tions as may be necessary for the direction and restriction 
of subdirectors in the discharge of their official duties, 
and not inconsistent with law. — 40 Ioiva, 369, 

Sec. 1738. A majority of the board of directors shall 
be a quorum to transact business, but a less number may 
adjourn from time to time, and no tax shall be levied by 
the board after the third Monday in May ; nor shall the 
boundaries of subdistricts be changed except by a vote of 
the majority of the board, nor shall the members of the 
board, except its secretary and treasurer, receive pay out 
of any school funds for services rendered under this 
chapter. — 47 Iowa, 11. 

PRESIDENT. 

Sec. 1739. (As amended by Chap. 46, Laws of 1882.) 
The president shall preside at all meetings of the board 
of directors of independent districts and of the district 
townships, shall draw all drafts on the county treasury 
for money apportioned to his district, sign all orders on 
the treasury, specifying in each order the fund on which 
it is drawn and the use for which the money is ap- 
propriated, and shall sign all contracts made by the 
board, and shall be empowered to administer the oath of 



14 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

office to the secretary, treasurer, and members of the 
board. 29 Iowa, 339; 14 Iowa, 28. 

Sec. 1740. He shall appear in behalf of his district in 
all suits brought by or against the same, but when he is 
individually a party, this duty shall be performed by the 
secretary ; and in all cases where suits may be instituted 
by or against any of the school officers to enforce any of 
the provisions herein contained, counsel may be employed 
by the board of directors. 14 Iowa, 28 ; 56 Iowa, 411. 

SECRETARY. 

Sec. 1741. The secretary shall record all the proceed- 
ings of the board and district meetings in separate books 
kept for that purpose ; shall preserve copies of all reports 
made to the county superintendent ; shall file all papers 
transmitted to him pertaining to the business of the dis- 
trict ; shall countersign all drafts and orders drawn by 
the president, and shall keep a register of all orders drawn 
on the treasury, showing the number of the order, date, 
name of the person in whose favor drawn, the fund on 
which it is drawn, for what purpose and the amount ; and 
shall, from time to time, furnish the treasurer with a 
transcript of the same. 45 Iowa, 666 ; 8 Iowa, 298. 

Sec. 1742. He shall give ten days' previous notice of 
the district township meeting by posting a written notice 
in five conspicuous places therein, one of which shall be 
at or near the last place of meeting, and shall furnish a 
copy of the same to the teacher of each school in session, 
to be read in the presence of the pupils thereof, and such 
notice shall, in all cases, state the hour of meeting. 

Sec. 1743. He shall keep an accurate account of all 
the expenses incurred by the district, and shall present 
the same to the board of directors, to be audited and paid 
as herein provided. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 15 

Sec. 1744. He shall notify the county superintendent 
when each school of the district begins, and its length of 
term. 

Sec. 1745. (As amended by Chap. 112, Laws of 1876.) 
Between the fifteenth and twentieth days of September in 
each year, the secretary of each school district shall file 
with the county superintendent a report of the affairs of 
the district, which shall contain the following items : 

1. The number of persons, male and female, each, in 
his district,^ between the ages of five and twenty-one 
years. 

2. The number of schools, and the branches taught ; 

3. The number of pupils, and the average attendance 
of the same in each school ; 

4. The number of teachers employed, and the aver- 
age compensation paid per week, distinguishing males 
from females; 

5. The length of school in days and the average cost 
of tuition per week for each pupil ; 

6. The text-books used, and the number of volumes 
in the district library, and the value of apparatus belong- 
ing to the district ; 

7. The number of school-houses, and their estimated 
value ; 

8 The name, age, and post-office address of each deaf 
and dumb, and each blind person within his district be- 
tween the ages of five and twenty-one, including all who 
are deaf and dumb to such an extent as to be unable to 
obtain an education in the common schools. 

Sec. 1746. Should the secretary fail to file his report, 
as above directed, he shall forfeit the sum of twenty-five 
dollars and shall make good all losses resulting from such 
failure, and suit shall be brought in both cases by the 
district on his official bond. 



10 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

TREASURER. 

Sec. 1747. The treasurer shall hold all moneys be- 
longing to the district, and pay out the same on the order 
of the president, countersigned by the secretary, and shall 
keep a correct account of all expenses and receipts in a 
book provided for that purpose. — 39 Iowa, 9 ; 22 Iowa, 
595; 29 Iowa, 339. 

Sec. 1748. The money collected by district tax for 
the erection of school-houses and for the payment of 
debts contracted for the same, shall be called the " school- 
house fund ;" that designed for rent, fuel, repairs, and all 
other contingent expenses necessary for keeping the 
schools in operation, the "contingent fund;" and that 
received for the payment of teachers, the "teachers' 
fund ;" and the district treasurer shall keep with each 
fund a separate account, and shall pay no order which 
does not specify the fund on which it is drawn, and the 
specific use to which it is applied. If he have not suffi- 
cient funds in his hand to pay in full the warrants drawn 
on the funds specified, he shall make a partial payment 
thereon, paying as near as may be an equal proportion of 
each warrant. — 51 Iowa, 432 ; 51 Iowa, 350 ; 40 Iowa, 
620. 

Sec. 1749. He shall receive all moneys apportioned 
to the district township by the county auditor, and also 
all money collected by the county treasurer on the dis- 
trict school tax levied for his district. 

Sec. 1 750. He shall register all orders on the district 
treasury reported to him by the secretary, showing the 
number of the order, date, name of the person in whose 
favor drawn, the fund on which it was drawn, for what 
purpose and the amount. 

Sec. 1751. (As amended by Chap. 112, Laws of 1876.) 
He shall render a statement of the finances of the dig- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 17 

trict from time to time, as may be required by the board 
of directors, and his books shall always be open for in- 
spection. He shall make to the board, on the third Mon- 
day in September, a full and complete annual report 
embracing : 

1. The amount of teachers' fund held over, received, 
paid out and on hand. 

2. The amount of contingent fund held over, received, 
paid out, and on hand. 

3. The amount of school-house fund held over, received, 
paid out, and on hand. 

He shall immediately file a copy of said report with the 
county superintendent, and for failure to file said report 
he shall forfeit the sum of twenty-five dollars, to be re- 
covered by suit brought by the district on his official 
bond. 

SUBDIRECTOR. 

Sec. 1752. Each subdirector shall, on or before the 
third Monday in March following his election, appear 
before some officer qualified to administer oaths, and take 
an oath to support the constitution of the United States 
and that of the State of Iowa, and that he will faithfully 
discharge the duties of his office, and in case of failure to 
qualify his office shall be deemed vacant. 53 Iowa, 687. 

Sec. 1753. The subdirector, under such rules and 
restrictions as the board of directors may prescribe, shall 
negotiate and make in his subdistrict all necessary con- 
tracts for providing fuel for schools, employing teachers, 
repairing and furnishing school- houses, and for making 
all other provisions necessary for the convenience and 
prosperity of the schools within his subdistrict, and he 
shall have the control and management of the school- 
house unless otherwise ordered by a vote of the district 
township meeting. All contracts made in conformity 



18 ♦ SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

with the provisions of this section shall be approved by 
the president and reported to the board of directors, and 
said board, in their corporate capacity, shall be responsi- 
ble for the performance of the same on the part of the 
district township. 33 Iowa, 105 ; 35 Iowa, 361 ; 50 loiva, 
11 ; 54 Iowa, 417. 

, Sec. 1754. He shall, between the first and tenth lays 
of September of each year, prepare a list of the names of 
the heads of families in his subdistrict, together willi the 
number of children between the ages of five and twenty- 
one years, distinguishing males from females, and shall 
record the same in a book kept for that purpose. 

Sec. 1755. He shall, between the tenth and fifteenth 
days of September of each year, report to the secretary of 
the district township, the number of persons in his subdis- 
trict between the ages of five and twenty-one years dis- 
tinguishing males from females. 

-Sec. 1756. He shall have power with the concurrence 
of the president of the board of directors, to dismiss any 
pupil from the schools in his subdistrict for gross immor- 
ality, or for persistent violation of the regulations of the 
school, and to re-admit them, if he deems proper so to do ; 
and shall visit the schools in his subdistrict at least twice 
during each term of said school. 30 loiva, 429; 31 Iowa, 
562 , 56 Iowa, 476. 

TEACHERS. 

Sec. 1757. All contracts with teachers shall be in writ- 
ing, specifying the length of time the school is to be 
taught, in weeks, the compensation per week, or per 
month of four weeks, and such other matters as may be 
agreed upon ; and shall be signed by the subdi rector or 
secretary and teacher, and be approved by and filed with 
the president before the teacher enters upon the dis- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 1* 

charge of his duties. 40 Iowa, 444; 35 hwa, 375; 54 
him, 417 ; 52 hwa, 130. 

Sec. 1758. No person shall be employed to teach a 
common school which is to receive its distributive share of 
the school fund unless he shall have a certificate of qual- 
ification signed by the county superintendent of the 
county in which the school is situated, or by some other 
officer duly authorized by law ; an! any teacher who com- 
mences teaching without such certificate shall forfeit all 
claim to compensation for the time during which he 
teaches without such certificate. 44 Iowa, 564; 17 Iowa, 
228. 

Sec. 1759. The teacher shall keep a correct daily reg- 
ister of the school, which shall exhibit the number or 
other designation thereof, township and county in which 
the school is kept ; the day of the week, the month and 
year ; the name, age, and attendance of each pupil, and 
the branches taught. When scholars reside in different 
districts a register shall be kept for each district. 

Sec. 1760. The teacher shall, immediately after the 
close of his school, file in the office of the secretary of 
the board of directors, a certified copy of the register 
aforesaid. # 

GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

Sec. 1761. A school month shall consist of four weeks 
of five school days each. 

Sec. 1762. During the time of holding a teachers' in. 
stitute in any county, any school that may be in session 
in such county shall be closed ; and all teachers, and per- 
sons desiring a teacher's certificate, shall attend such in- 
stitute, or present to the county superintendent satis- 
factory reasons for not so attending, before receding such 
certificate. 

Sec. 1763. The electors of any school district at an? 



20 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

legally called school meeting, may by a vote of the major- 
ity of the electors present, direct the German or other 
language to be taught as a branch in one or more of the 
schools of said district, to the scholars attending the 
same whose parents or guardians may so desire ; and 
thereupon such board of directors shall provide that the 
same be done ; provided, that all other branches taught 
in said school or schools shall be taught in the 
English language; provided farther, that the person 
employed in teaching the said branches shall satisfy 
thecounty superintendent of his ability and qualifications, 
and receive from him a certificate to that effect. 

Sec. 1764. The Bible shall not be excluded from any 
school or institution in this state nor shall any pupil be 
required to read it contrary to the wishes of his parent or 
guardian. 

COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT. 

Sec. 1765. The county superintendent shall not hold 
any office in, or be a member of the board of directors of 
a district township or independent district, or of the board 
of supervisors during the time of his incumbency. 

Sec. 1766. (As amended by Chap 143, Laws of 1878.) 
On the last Saturday of each month, the county superin- 
tendent shall meet all persons desirous of passing an 
examination, and for the transaction of other business 
within his jurisdiction, in some suitable room provided 
for that purpose by the board of supervisors at the county 
seat, at which time he shall examine all such applicants 
for examination as to their competency and ability to 
teach orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, geogra- 
phy, English grammar, physiology and history of the 
United States ; and in making such examination, he may 
at his option, call to his aid one or more assistants. 
Teachers exclusively teaching music, drawing, penman- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 21 

ship, book-keeping, German or other language, shall not 
be required to be examined except in reference to such 
special branch, and in such case it shall not be lawful to 
employ them to teach any branch except such as they 
shall be examined upon and which shall be stated in the 
certificate. — 49 Iowa, 245; 44 Iowa, 564. 

Sec. 1767. If the examination is satisfactory, and the 
superintendent is satisfied that the respective applicants 
possess a good moral character, and the essential qualifi 
cations for governing and instructing children and youth, 
he shall give them a certificate to that effect, for a term 
not exceeding one year. — 52 Iowa, 111. 

Sec. 1768. Any school officer or other person shall be 
permitted to be present at the examination ; and the 
superintendent shall make a record of the name, resi- 
dence, age, and date of examination of all persons so ex- 
amined, distinguishing between those to whom he issued 
certificates and those rejected. 

Sec. 1769. (As amended by Chap. 57, Laws of 1874, 
and Chap. 54, Laws of 1878.) The county superintend- 
ent shall hold, annually, a normal institute for the in- 
struction of teachers and those who may desire to teach, 
and with the concurrence of the superintendent of public 
instruction, procure such assistance as may be necessary 
to conduct the same, at such time as the schools in the 
county are generally closed. To defray the expenses of 
said institute, he shall require the payment of a regis- 
tration fee of one dollar from each person attending the 
normal institute, and shall also require the payment, in 
all cases, of one dollar from every applicant for a certificate. 
He shall, monthly, and at the close of each institpte, trans- 
mit to the county treasurer, all moneys so received in- 
cluding the state appropriation for institutes, to be desig- 
nated the " institute fund " ; together with a report of the 



22 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

name of each person so contributing, and the amount. 
The board of supervisors may appropriate such additional 
sum as may by them be deemed necessary for the fur- 
ther support of such institute. All disbursements of the 
institute fund shall be upon the order of the county 
superintendent; and no order shall be drawn except for 
bills presented to the county superintendent, and ap- 
proved by him, for services rendered or expenses incurred 
in connection with the normal institute. 

Sec. 1770. If, for any cause, the countysuperintendent 
is unable to attend to his official duties, he shall appoint 
a deputy to perform them in his stead, except visiting 
schools and trying appeals. 

Sec. 1771. The superintendent may revoke the cer- 
tificate of any teacher in the county which was given by 
the superintendent thereof, for any reason which would 
have justified the withholding thereof when the same was 
given, after an investigation of the facts in the case, of 
which investigation the teacher shall have personal notice, 
and he shall be permitted to be present and make his de- 
fense. 

Sec. 1772. On the first Tuesday of October cf each 
year, he shall make a report to the superintendent of pub- 
lic instructions, containing a full abstract of the reports 
made to him by the respective district secretaries, and 
such other matters as he shall be directed to report by 
said superintendent, and as he, himself, may deem essen- 
tial in exhibiting the true condition of the schools under 
his charge ; and he shall, at the same time, file with the 
county auditor a statement of the number of persons be- 
tween the ages of five and twenty -one years in each school 
district in his county. 

Sec. 1 773. Should he fail to make either of the reports 
required in the last section, he shall forfeit to the school 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 23 

fund of his county the sum of fifty dollars, and shall, 
besides, be liable for all damages caused by such neglect. 

Sec. 1774. (As amended by Chap. 161," Laws of 18^2.) 
He shall at all times conform to the instructions of the 
superintendent of public instruction, as to matters within 
the jurisdiction of the said superintendent. He shall 
serve as the organ of communication between the super- 
intendent and township or district authorities. He shall 
transmit to the townships, districts, or teachers, all 
blanks, circulars, and other communications which are 
to them directed He may at his discretion visit the 
different schools in his county and shall, at the request of 
a majority of the directors of a district visit the school in 
said district at least once during each term. 

Sec. 1775. He shall report on the first Tuesday of 
October of each year to the superintendent of the Iowa 
college for the blind, the name, age, residence and post- 
office address of every person blind to such an extent as 
to be unable to acquire an education in the common 
schools, and who resides in the county in which he is 
superintendent, and also to the superintendent of the 
Towa institution for the deaf and dumb, the name, age, 
and post-office address of every deaf and dumb person 
between the ages of five and twenty-one who resides 
within his county, including all such persons as may be 
deaf to such an extent as to be unable to acquire an edu- 
cation in the common schools. 

Sec. 1776. (As amended by Chap. 161, Laws of 1882.) 
The county superintendent shall receive from the county 
treasury the sum of four dollars per day for every day 
necessarily engaged in the performance of official duties, 
and also the necessary stationery and postage for the use 
of his office, and he shall be entitled to such additional 
compensation as the board of supervisors may allow ; 



24 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

provided, that he shall first file a sworn statement of the 
time he has been employed in his official duties, with the 
county auditor. — 49 Iowa, 245 ; 51 Iowa, 53. 

TAXES. 

Sec. 1777. The board of directors shall, at their regu- 
,lar meeting in March of each year or at a special meeting 
convened for that purpose, between the time designated 
for such regular meeting and the third Monday in May, es- 
timate the amount required for the contingent fund, and 
also such sum as may be required for the teachers' fund, 
in adddition to the amount received from the semi-annual 
apportionment, as shown by the notice from the county 
auditor, to support the schools of the district for the time 
required by law for the current year ; and shall cause the 
secretary to certify the same, together with the amount 
voted for school -house purposes, within five days there- 
after to the board of supervisors, who shall at the time of 
levying taxes for county purposes, subject to the pro- 
visions of section seventeen hundred and eighty of this 
chapter, levy the per centum necessary to raise the sum 
thus certified upon the property of the district township, 
which shall be collected and paid over as are other 
district taxes. — 41 Iowa, 153 ; 28 Iowa, 332 ; 41 Iowa, 153 
41 Iowa, 179; 3 gr. 255; 4</r. 448. 

Sec. 1778. They shall apportion any tax voted by the 
district township meeting for school-house fund, among 
the several subdistricts in such a manner as justice and 
equity may require, taking "as the basis of such apportion- 
ment the respective amounts previously levied upon said 
subdistricts for the use of such fund ; provided, that if 
the electors of one or more subdistricts at their last an- 
nual meeting shall have voted to raise a sum for school- 
house purposes greater than that granted by the electors 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 25 

at the last annual meeting of the district township, they 
shall estimate the amount of such excess on such sub- 
district or subdistricts, and cause the secretary to certify 
the same within five days thereafter to the board of super- 
visors, who shall, at the time of levying taxes for county 
purposes, levy the per centum of such excess on the 
taxable property of the subdistrict asking the same, pro- 
vided that not more than fifteen mills on the dollar 
shall be levied on the taxable property of any subdistrict 
for auy one year for school-house purposes. — 49 Iowa, 
325; 38 Iowa, 440; 38 Iowa, 445; 55 Iowa, 215. 

Sec. 1779. The board of supervisors of each county 
shall, at the time of levying the taxes for county purposes^ 
levy a tax for the support of schools within the county of 
not less than one mill, nor more than three mills on the 
dollar, on the assessed value of all the real and personal 
property within the county, which shall be collected by 
the county treasurer at the time and in the same manner 
as state and county taxes are collected, except that it 
shall be receivable only in cash. 

Sec. 1780. They shall also levy at the same time, the 
district school tax certified to them from time to time, 
by the respective district secretaries ; provided, that the 
amount levied for school-house fund shall not exceed 
ten mills on the dollar, on the property of any district, 
and the amount levied for contingent fund shall not ex- 
ceed five dollars per pupil, and the amount raised for 
teachers' fund, including the amount received from the 
semi-annual apportionment, shall not exceed fifteen 
dollars per pupil for each pupil residing in the district, aa 
shown by the last report of the county superintendent. 
And if the amount certified to the board of supervisors 
exceeds this limit, they shall levy only to the amount lim- 
ited ; provided, that they may levy seventy-five dollars, 



20 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

for contingent fund and two hundred and seventy dol- 
lars, including the amount received from the semi annual 
apportionment, for the teachers' fund for each subdistrict. 
— 43 Iowa, 466 ; 41 Iowa, 57; 41 lotva. 66. 

COUNTY AUDITOR. 

Sec. 1781. The county auditor shall, on the first 
Monday in April and the fourth Monday in September of 
each year, apportion the county school tax, together with 
the interest of the permanent school f uud to which his 
county is entitled, and all other money in the hands of 
the county treasurer belonging in common to the schools 
of his county and not included in any previous apportion- 
ment among the several districts therein, in proportion to 
the number of persons between five and twenty-one years 
of age, as shown by the report of the county superintend- 
ent filed with him for the year immediately preceding. 

Sec. 1782. He shall immediately notify the president 
of each school district of the sum to which his district is 
entitled by said apportionment, and shall issue his warrant 
for the same to accompany said notice, which warrant 
shall be also signed by the president and countersigned by 
the secretary of the district in whose favor the same is 
drawn ; and shall authorize the district treasurer to draw 
the amount due said district from the county treasurer : 
aud the secretary shall charge the treasurer of the dis- 
trict with all warrants drawn in his favor, and credit him 
with all warrants drawn on the funds in his hands, keep- 
ing separate accounts with each fund. 

Sec. 1783. He shall forward to the superintendent of 
public instruction a certificate of the election or appoint- 
ment and qualification of the county superintendent ; and 
shall, also on the second Monday in February and August 
of each year, make out and transmit to the auditor of 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 27 

state, in accordance with such forms as said auditor may 
prescribe, a report of the interest of the school fund then 
in the hands of the county treasurer, and not included in 
any previous apportionment, and also the amount of said 
interest remaining unpaid. 

COUNTY TREASURER. 

Sec. 1784. The county treasurer shall, on the first 
Monday in April of each year pay over to the treasurer of 
the district the amount of all school district tax which 
shall have been collected, and shall render him a state- 
ment of the amount uncollected, and shall pay over the 
amount in his hands quarterly thereafter. He shall 
also keep the amount of tax levied for school-house pur. 
poses, separate in each subdistrict, where such levy has 
been made directly upon the property of the subdistrict 
making the application, and shall pay over the same 
quarterly to the township treasurer for the benefit of such 
subdistrict. He shall, in all counties wherein independ- 
ent districts are organized, keep a separate account with 
said independent districts, in which the receipts shall be 
daily entered, which books shall at all times be open to 
the inspection and examination of the district board of 
directors, and shall pay over to the said independent dis- 
tricts the amount of school taxes in his possession on the 
order of the board, on the first day of each and every month. 

Sec. 1785. On the first day of each quarter, the 
county treasurer shall give notice to the president of the 
school board of each township in his county of the 
amount collected for each fund ; and the president of 
each board shall draw his warrant, countersigned by the 
secretary, upon the county treasurer for such amount, 
who shall pay the amount of such taxes to the treasurers 
of the several school boards only on such warrants. 



2b SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Sec. 1786. All fines and penalties collected from a 
school district officer by virtue of any of the provisions of 
this chapter, shall inure to the benefit of that particular 
district. Those collected from any member of the board 
of directors shall belong to the district township, and those 
collected from county officers, to the county. In the two 
former cases, suit shall be brought in the name of the 
district township ; in the latter, in the name of the county, 
and by the district attorney. The amount in each case 
shall be added to the fund next to be applied by the 
recipient for the use of common schools. 

Sec. 1787. When a judgment has been obtained 
against a school district, the board of directors shall pay 
off and satisfy the same from the proper fund, by an 
order on the treasurer ; and the district meeting, at the 
time for voting a tax for the payment of other liabilities 
of the district shall provide for the payment of such order 
or orders. — 40 Iowa, 620 ; 34 Iowa, 510 ; 52 Iowa, 287. 

Sec. 1788. In case a school district has borrowed 
money of the school fund, the board of supervisors shall 
levy such tax, not exceeding five mills on the dollar in 
anyone year, on the taxable property of the district as 
constituted at the time of making such loan, as may be 
necessary to pay the annual interest on said loan, and 
the principal when the same falls due unless the 
board of supervisors shall see proper to extend the time 
of said loan. 

Sec. 1789. No district township or subdistrict meet- 
ing shall organize earlier than nine o'clock a. m., nor 
adjourn before twelve o'clock m. : and in all independent 
districts having a population of three hundred and up- 
ward, the polls shall remain open from nine o'clock 
a. m. to four o'clock p. m. — 34 Iowa, 306. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 2^ 

Sec. 1790. Any school director, or director elect, is 
authorized to administer to any school director elect the 
official oath required by law, and said official oath 
may be taken on or before the third Monday in March 
following the election of directors. — 53 Iowa, G87. 

Sec. 1791. Wnen any school officer is superseded by 
election or otherwise, he shall immediately deliver to his 
successor in office, all books, papers, and moneys pertain- 
ing to his office, taking a receipt therefor; and every 
such officer who shall refuse to do so, or who shall will- 
fully mutilate or destroy any such books or papers, or 
any part thereof, or shall misapply any moneys entrusted 
to him by virtue of his office, shall be liable to the pro- 
visions of the general statutes for the punishment of 
such offense. 

Sec. 1792. Nothing in this chapter shall be so con- 
strued as to give the board of directors of a district 
township jurisdiction over any territory included within 
the limits of any independent district. 

Sec. 1793. (As amended by Chap. 64, Laws of 1876, 
and Chap. 41, Laws of 1878.) Children residing in one 
district may attend school in another in the same or 
adjoining county or township, on such terms as may 
be agreed upon by the respective boards of directors; but 
in case no such agreement is made, they may attend 
school in any such adjoining district, with the consent of 
the county superintendent of the county where said pupils 
reside and the board of directors of said adjoining district, 
when they reside nearer the school in said district, and 
one and a half miles or more, by the nearest traveled 
highway, from any school in their own. The board of 
directors of the township in which such children reside, 
shall be notified in writing, and the district in which 
they reside shall pay to the district in which they at- 



SO SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

tend school, the average tuition of said children per week, 
and an average proportion of the contingent expenses of 
said district where they attend school ; and in case of re- 
fusal so to do, the secretary shall file the account for 
said tuition and contingent expenses certified to by the 
president of his board, with the county auditor of the 
county in which said children reside, and the said county 
auditor shall at the time of making the next semi-an- 
nual apportionment thereafter, deduct the amount so 
certified from the sum apportioned to the district in 
which said children reside, and cause it to be paid over 
to the district in which they have attended school. — 49 
Iowa, 231. 

Sec. 1794. Pupils who are actual residents of a dis- 
trict shall be permitted to attend school in the same, re- 
gardless of the time when they acquired such residence, 
whether before or after the enumeration, or of the resi- 
dence of their parents or guardians ; but pupils who are so- 
journing temporarily in one district, while their actual 
residence is in another, and to whom the last preceding 
section is not applicable, may attend school upon such 
terms as the board of directors may deem just and 
equitable. 

Sec. 1795. Pupils may attend school in any sub- 
district of the district township in which they reside with 
the consent of the subdirector of such subdistrict, and 
of the subdirector of the subdistrict in which such pupils 
reside. 

Sec. 1796. The board of directors shall, at their 
regular meeting in September, or at any special meeting 
called thereafter for that purpose, divide their township 
into subdistricts, such as justice, equity, and the interests 
of the people require ; and may make such alterations of 
the boundaries of subdistricts heretofore formed, as may 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 31 

be deemed necessary ; and shall designate such subdis- 
tricts, and all subsequent alterations, in a distinct and 
legible manner, upon a plat of the district provided for 
that purpose ; and shall causa a written description of 
the same t) be recorded in the district records, a copy of 
which shall be delivered by the secretary to the county 
treasurer, and also to the county auditor, who shall re- 
cord the same in his office ; provided, that the boundaries 
of subdistricts shall conform to the lines of congressional 
divisions of land ; and that the formation and alteration 
of subdistricts as contemplated in this section, shall not 
take effect until the next subdistrict election thereafter, 
at which election a subdirector shall be elected for the 
new subdistrict. — 48 Iowa, 157; 50 Iowa, 11. 

Sec. 1797. In cases where, by reason of streams or 
other natural obstacles, any portion of the inhabitants 
of any school district cannot, in the opinion of the 
county superintendent, with reasonable facility enjoy the 
advantages of any school in their township, the said 
county superintendent, with the consent of the board of 
directors of such district as may be aifected thereby, 
may attach such part of said township to an adjoining 
township, and the order therefor shall be transmitted 
to the secretary of each district, and be by him recorded 
in his records, and the proper entry made on his plat of 
the district.— 41 Iowa, 30 ; 55 Iowa, 390. ' 

Sec. 1798. (As amended by Chap. Ill, Laws of 1880, 
and Chap. 160, Laws of 1882.) In all cases where territory 
lias been or may beset into an adjoining county or township, 
or attached to any independent school district in any ad- 
joining county or township, for school purposes, such terri- 
tory may be restored by the concurrence of the respective 
boards of directors ; but on the written application of two- 
thirds of the electors residing upon the territory within such. 



32 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

township or independent district in which the school- 
house is not situated, the said boards shall restore the 
territory to the district to which it geographically be- 
longs. Provided, however, That no such restoration shall 
be made unless there are fifteen or more pupils between 
the ages of five and twenty- one years actually residing 
upon said territory sought to be restored, and not until 
there has been a suitable school-house erected and com- 
pleted within the limits of said territory, suitable for 
school purposes. — 45 Iozoa, 53. 

Sec. 1799. The boundary lines of a civil township 
shall not be changed by the board of supervisors of any 
county, so as to divide any school district by changing 
the boundary lines thereof, except when a majority of the 
voters of such district shall petition therefor ; provided 
however, that this shall not prevent the change of the 
boundary lines of any civil township, when such change 
is made by adopting the lines of congressional townships. 

INDEPENDENT DISTRICTS. 

Sec. 1800. (As amended by Chap. 139, Laws of 1880.) 
Any city, town or village containing not less than two 
hundred inhabitants within its limits, may be constituted 
a separate school district ; and territory contiguous to 
such city, town or village may be included with it as a 
part of said separate district in the manner hereinafter 
provided. The village herein mentioned shall be under- 
stood to be a collection of inhabitants residing within the 
limits of a town plat, and not organized into a city or in- 
corporated town. — 29 Iowa, 265 ; 41 Iowa, 30 ; 46 Iowa,klb. 

Sec. 1801. At the written request of any ten legal 
voters residing in such city or town, the board of direct- 
ors of the district township shall establish the bounda- 
ries of the contemplated school district, including such 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. o3 

contiguous territory as may best subserve the convenience 
of the people for school purposes, and shall give at least 
ten days previous notice of the time and place of meet- 
ing of the electors residing in said district, by posting 
written notices in at least five conspicuous places therein ; 
at which meeting the said electors shall vote by ballot for 
or against a separate organization. — 25 Iowa, 305 ; 41 
Iowa, 30 ; 46 Iowa, 425 ; 34 Iowa, 306 ; 17 loiva, 85. 

Sec. 1802. (As amended by Chap. 27, Laws of 1874, 
and Chap. 143, Laws of 1880.) Should a majority of 
votes be cast in favor of such separate organization, the 
board of directors of the district township shall give 
similar notice of a meeting of the electors for the elec- 
tion of six directors. Two of these directors shall hold 
their office until the first annual meeting after their elec- 
tion, and until their successors are elected and qualified : 
two until the second, and two until the third annual 
meeting thereafter ; their respective terms of office to be 
determined by lot. The six directors shall constitute 
a board of directors for the district, and they shall, at 
their first regular meeting in each year, elect a president 
from their own number; and at their meeting on the 
third Monday in September in each year, a secretary and 
treasurer to be chosen outside of the board ; provided, 
that in all independent districts having a population of 
less than five hundred, there shall be three directors 
elected, who shall organize by electing a president from 
their own number, also a secretary, who may or may not 
be a member of the board, and a treasurer, who shall not 
be a member of the board; and provided further ; that in 
all independent districts already organized, the terms of 
office of such directors as may have been chosen previous 
to the taking effect of this section for two or three years, 
shall not be interfered with by its passage. — 48 Iowa, 189. 

3 



34 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

Sec. 1803. Said meeting ior the first election of direct- 
ors shall organize by appointing a president and secre- 
tary, who shall act as judges of the election, and issue a 
certificate of election to the persons elected. 

Sec. 1804. The organization of such independent dis- 
trict shall be completed on or before the first day of 
August of the year in which such organization is at- 
tempted, and when such organization is thus completed, 
all taxes levied by the board of directors of the district 
township of which the independent district formed a part 
in that year, shall be void so far as the property within 
the limits of the independent district is concerned ; and 
the board of directors of such independent district shall 
levy all necessary taxes for school purposes as provided 
by law for that year at a meeting called for that purpose, 
at any time before the third Monday of August of that 
year, which shall be certified to the board of supervisors 
on or before the first Monday of September, and said 
board of supervisors shall levy said tax at the time and 
in the manner that school taxes are required to be levied 
in other districts. — 35 Iowa, 462 ; 51 Iowa, 658. 

Sec. 1805. In case such district is formed of parts of 
two or more civil townships in the same or adjoining 
counties, the duty of giving the notice shall devolve upon 
the board of directors of the township in which a majority 
of the legal voters of the contemplated district reside. 

Sec. 1806. Said district may have as many schools, 
and be divided into such wards or other subdivisions for 
school purposes, as the board of directors may deem 
proper ; and shall be governed by the laws enacted for 
the regulation of district townships, so far as the same 
may be applicable. — 32 Iowa, 105 ; 44 Iowa 564. 

Sec. 1807. It shall be lawful for the electors of any 
independent district, at the annual meeting of such dis- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 35 

trict to vote a tax, not exceeding ten mills on the dollar 
in any one year, on the taxable property of snch district, 
as the meeting may deem sufficient for the purchase 
of grounds and the construction of the necessary school - 
houses for the use of such independent district, and for 
the payment of any debts contracted for the erection of 
such school-houses, and for procuring a library and ap- 
paratus for the use of the schools of such independent 
district. — 43 Iowa, 48 ; 43 Iowa 73. 

Sec. 1808. (As amended by Chap. 7, Laws of 1880.) 
The annual meeting of all independent districts shall be 
held on the second Monday in March for the transaction 
of the business of the district, and for the election by 
ballot of two directors, as the successors of the two whose 
term expires, who shall continue in office for three years ; 
and the president, secretary, and one of the directors then 
in office shall act as judges of the election, and shall issue 
certificates of election to the persons elected for the ensu- 
ing term ; provided, that in all independent districts, 
having a population of less than five hundred, there shall 
be elected, annually, one director, who shall continue in 
office for three years. In cases of a tie vote in the elec- 
tion of director, or directors, the secretary shall notify 
them to appear at the regular meeting of the board on the 
third Monday in March, to determine their election by lot 
before one or more members of the board elected, and the 
certificate of election shall be given accordingly. Should 
either party fail to appear, or take part in the lot, the 
secretary shall draw for him. 

Sec. 1809. When an independent district has been 
formed out of a civil township, or townships, as herein 
contemplated, the remainder of such township, or of each 
of such townships, as the case may be, shall constitute a 
district township as provided in section seventeen hundred 



36 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

and thirteen of this chapter, and the boundaries between 
such district township and independent district may be 
changed, or the independent district abandoned at any 
time, with the concurrence of their respective boards of 
directors — 55 Iowa, 390. 

• Sec. 1810. In case an independent district embraces 
a part or the whole of a civil township which has no sep- 
arate district township organization, urxm the written 
application of two-thirds of the electors residing upon the 
territory of such independent district, and within such 
civil township, to the board of directors, they shall set off 
such territory, whether provided with school houses or 
not, to be organized as a district township in the manner 
provided for such organization when a new civil town- 
ship is formed. 

Sec. 1811. Independent districts, located contiguous 
to each other, may unite and form one and the same 
independent district, in the manner following : At the 
written request of any ten legal voters residing in each of 
said independent districts, their respective boards of 
directors shall require their secretaries to give at least ten 
days' notice of the time and place for a meeting of the 
electors residing in such districts, by posting written 
notices in at least five public places in each of said dis- 
tricts, at which meetings the said electors shall vote by 
ballot for or against a consolidated organization of said 
independent districts ; and if a majority of the votes cast 
at the election in each district shall be in favor of uniting 
said districts, then the secretaries shall give similar notice 
of a meeting of the electors, as provided for by the law 
for the organization of independent districts. The 
independent district thus consolidated shall be com- 
pleted, and its directors governed by the same provisions 
of the law which apply to other independent districts. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 37 

Sec. 1812. Where, under the school lavvs of the state 
heretofore in force, for the convenience and accommoda- 
tion of the people, school districts were formed of por- 
tions of two counties of territory lying contiguous to each 
other, at the written request of five legal voters residing 
in portions of said territory in each county, the board of 
directors of the district township to which such territory 
belongs, having a majority of the legal voters, shall fix 
the boundaries of an independent school district, com- 
posed of such sections of land, or portions thereof as may 
be described in the petition therefor, and shall give at 
least ten days' notice of the submission of the question of 
the formation of said independent district, at a special 
election for said purpose, specifying the boundaries of 
the district, the time and place of meeting of the 
electors for such election, at which meeting the electors 
in the contemplated district shall vote by ballot for or 
against the separate organization. Should a majority of 
the votes be cast in favor of such separate organization, 
the said board of directors shall proceed by ballot to elect 
officers in the manner provided by law, and organize such 
independent district. — 41 1 ica, 30 ; 53 Iowa, 663. 

Sec. 1813. The boards of directors of the several 
independent school districts are hereby required to pub- 
lish, two weeks before the annual school election in such 
district, by publication in one or more newspapers, if any 
are published in such district, or by posting up in writing 
in not less than three conspicuous places in such inde- 
pendent district, a detailed and specific statement of. the 
receipts and disbursements of all funds expended for 
school and building purposes for the year preceding such 
annual election. And the said boards of directors shall 
also, at the same time, publish in detail an estimate of 
the several amounts which, in the judgment of such 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 



board, are necessary to maintain the schools in such 
district for the next succeeding school year ; and failure 
to comply with the provisions of this section shall make 
each director liable to a penalty of ten dollars. 

Sec. 1814. Township districts may be consolidated 
and organized as independent districts, in the following 
manner : Whenever the board of directors of any exist- 
ing district township shall deem the same advisabb, and 
also whenever requested to do so by a petition signed by 
one-third of the voters of the district township, the board 
shall submit to the voters of said district township, at a 
regular election, or one called for the purpose, the ques- 
tion of consolidation, at which election the voters of the 
district township shall vote for or against consolidation. 
If a majority of votes shall be in favor of such consoli- 
dated organization, such district township shall organize 
on the second Monday of March following as an inde- 
pendent district ; provided, that in townships which have 
been divided into independent districts, the duties in this 
section devolving on the board of directors shall be per- 
formed by the trustees of the township to whom the peti- 
tion shall in such cases be addressed ; and provided further \ 
that nothing in this section shall be construed to affect 
independent districts composed wholly or mainly of cities 
or incorporated towns. Independent districts may in like 
manner change their boundaries so as to form any num- 
ber of districts less than the number of districts existing 
at the time such change is asked for, and such changes 
shall be specified in the notices for a vote thereon. — 45 
Iowa, 53. 

Sec. 1815. (As amended by Chap. 155, Laws of 1876.) 
The independent districts of a civil township may be con- 
stituted a district township in the manner hereinafter 
provided.— 29 Iowa, 264. 



SCHOOL LAWS OK IOWA. 39 

Sec. 1816. (As amended by Chap. 155, Laws of 187-6.) 
At the written request of one-third of the legal voters re- 
siding in any civil township, which is divided into inde- 
pendent districts, the township trustees shall call a meet- 
ing of the qualified electors of such civil township at the 
usual place of holding the township election, by giving at 
least ten days' notice thereof, by posting three written 
notices in each independent district in the township, and 
by publication in a newspaper if one be published in such 
township, at which meeting the said electors shall vote 
by ballot for or against a district township organization. 

Sec. 1817. (As amended by Chap. 155, Laws of 1876.) 
If a majority of the votes cast at such election be in favor 
of such district township organization, each independent 
district shall become asubdistrict of the district township, 
and shall organize as such subdistricton the first Monday 
in March following, by the election of a subdirector. 

Sec. 1818. (As amended by Chap. 155, Laws of 1876.) 
Each subdistrict so formed shall hold a meeting on the 
first Monday in March for the election of a subdirector ; 
five clays' notice of which meeting shall be given by the 
secretary of the old independent district, by posting 
written notices in three public places in each district, 
which notices shall state the hour and place of the meet- 
ing. 

Sec. 1819. (As amended by Chap. 155, Laws of 1876.) 
District townships organized under the provisions of the 
preceding four sections shall be governed and treated in 
all respects as other district townships; provided, that 
nothing in this act shall be construed to affect inde- 
pendent districts composed wholly or mainly of cities or 
incorporated towns. 

Sec. 1820. (As amended by Chap. 155, Laws of 1876.) 
When any district township is organized under the pro- 



40 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

visions of the preceding five sections, the subdirectory 
shall ors^.ui.ze as a board of directors on the third Mon- 
day in March, and make an equitable settlement of the 
then existing assets and liabilities of the several inde- 
pendent districts. — 36 Iowa, 220. 

Sec. 1821. (As amended by Chap. 121, Laws of 1876.) 
Independent school districts shall have the power and 
authority to borrow money for the purpose of redeeming 
outstanding bonds and erecting and completing school 
houses, by issuing negotiable bonds of the independent 
district, to run any period not exceeding ten years, draw- 
ing a rate of interest not to exceed ten per centum per 
annum, which interest may be paid semi-annually, which 
said indebtedness shall be binding and obligatory on the 
independent district for the use of which said loan shall 
be made ; but no district shall permit a greater outstand- 
ing indebtedness than an amount equal to five per 
centum of the last assessed value of the property of the 
district. — 43 Iowa, 48 ; 43 Iowa, 55 ; 42 Iowa, 632. 

Sec. 1822. (As amended by Chap. 59, Laws of 1880.) 
The directors of the independent district may submit to 
the voters of their district, at the annual or a special 
meeting, the question of issuing bonds, as contemplated 
by the preceding section, giving the same notice of such 
meeting as i? now required by law to be given for the 
election of officers of such districts, and the amount pro- 
posed to be raised by the sale of such bonds, which 
question shall be voted upon by the electors, and if a 
majority of all the votes cast on that question be in favor 
of such loan, then said board shall issue bonds to the 
amount voted, in denominations of not less than twenty- 
five dollars, nor exceeding one thousand dollars, due not 
more than ten years after date, and payable at the pleas- 
ure of the district at any time before due, which said 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 41 

bonds shall be given in the name of the independent dis- 
trict issuing them, and shall be signed by the president of 
the board, and attested by the secretary, and delivered to 
the treasurer, taking his receipt therefor, who shall nego- 
tiate said bonds at not less than their par value, and 
countersign the same when negotiated. The treasurer 
shall stand charged upon his official bond with all bonds 
that may be delivered to him ; but any bond or bonds 
not negotiated may be returned by him to the board. 

Sec. 1823. If the electors of an independent school 
district which has issued bonds shall, at the annual 
meeting in March for any year, fail to vote sufficient 
school-house tax to raise a sum equal to the interest on 
the outstanding bonds which will accrue during the then 
coming year, and such proportionate portion of the prin- 
cipal as will liquidate and pay off said bonds at maturity, 
then it shall be lawful for the board of such district to 
vote a sufficient rate on the taxable property of the 
district to pay such interest, and such proportionate 
portion of the principal as will pay said bonds in full 
by the time of their maturity, and shall cause the same 
to be certified and collected the same as other school 
taxes. 

Sec. 1824. All school orders shall draw lawful inter- 
est after having been presented to the treasurer of the 
district, and not paid for want of funds, which fact shall 
be indorsed upon the order by the treasurer. 

SCHOOL-HOUSE SITES. 

Sec. 1825. It shall be lawful for anv district township 
or independent district to take and hold, under the pro- 
visions contained in this chapter, so much real estate as 
may be necessary for the location and construction of a 
school-house and convenient use of the school ; provided, 



42 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

that the real estate so taken, otherwise than by the con- 
sent of the owner or owners, shall not exceed one acre. — 
53 loioa, 255. 

Sec. 1826. The site so taken must be on some public 
highway, at least forty ro^ls from any residence, the 
owner whereof objects to its being placed nearer, and not 
in any orchard, garden, or public park. But this section 
shall not apply to any incorporated town. 

Sec. 1827. If the owner of any such real estate refuse 
or neglect to grant the site on his premises, or if such 
owner cannot be found, the county superintendent of 
tne county in which said real estate may be situated, 
shall, upon application of either party, appoint three dis- 
interested persons of said county, unless a smaller 
number is agreed upon by the parties, who shall, after 
taking an oath to faithfully and impartially discharge the 
duties imposed on them by this chapter, inspect said real 
estate and assess the damages which said owner will 
sustain by appropriation of his land for the use of said 
house and school, said county superintendent giving to 
the owner of such real estate the same notice as is re- 
quired for the commencement of a suit at law in the 
district court, of the time of such assessment of damage, 
and make a report in writing to the county superin- 
tendent of said county, giving the amount of damages, 
description of land, and exact location, who shall file and 
preserve the same in his office. If said board shall, at any 
time before they enter upon said land, for the purpose of 
building said house, deposit with the county treasurer for 
the use of said owner, the sum so assessed as aforesaid 
they shall be thereby authorized to build such house, and 
maintain the right to said premises: provided, that either 
party may have the right to appeal from said assessment 
of damages to the circuit court of the county where 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 43 

sucli real estate is situated within twenty days after 
receiving notice that -such assessment is made which 
appeal shall be final ; but such appeal shall not delay the 
prosecution of work upon said house, if said board shall 
pay, or deposit with the comity treasurer, the amount so 
assessed by such appraisers, and in no case shall said 
board be liable for costs on appeal, unless the owner of 
said real estate shall be adjudged a greater amount of 
damages than was awarded by said appraisers. The 
board shall in all cases pay costs of the first assessment. 
Sec. 1828. The title acquired by said school districts 
in and to said real property, shall be for school purposes 
only, and in case the same should cease to be used for 
said purpose for the space of two years, then the title 
shall revert to the owner of the fee, upon the repayment 
by him of the principal amount paid for said land by 
said districts without interest, together with the value 
of any improvements thereon erected by said districts ; 
provided, that during the time said site is used for school 
purposes, the owners of the fee shall not injure or re- 
move the timber standing and growing thereon. 

APPEALS. 

Sec. 1829. Any person aggrieved by any decision or 
order of the district board of directors, in matter of law 
or of fact, may, within thirty days after the rendition of 
such decision, or the making of such order, appeal there- 
from to the county superintendent of the proper county. 
23 Iowa, 408 ; 35 Iowa, 445 ; 45 Ioiva, 391 ; 17 Iotoa, 16 ; 
50 Iowa, 648; 55 Iowa, 215. 

Sec. 1830. The basis of the proceeding shall be an 
affidavit, filed by the party aggrieved with the county 
superintendent, within the time for taking the appeal. 

Sec. 1831. The affidavit shall set forth the errors 
complained of in a plain and concise manner. 



44 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

Sec. 1832. The county superintendent shall, within 
five days after the filing of such affidavit in his office, 
notify the secretary of tiie proper district, in writing, of 
the taking of such appeal. And the latter shall, within 
ten days after being thus notified, file in the office of the 
county super intendent a complete transcript of the rec- 
ord and proceedings relating to the decision complained 
of, which transcript shall be certified to be correct by the 
secretary. 

Sec. 1833. After the filing of the transcript aforesaid 
in his office, he shall notify in writing all persons ad- 
versely interested of the time and place where the matter 
of the appeal will be heard by him. 

Sec 1834. At the time thus fixed for hearing, he shall 
hear testimony for either party, and for that purpose may 
administer oaths if necessary, and he shall make such 
decision as maybe just and equitable, which shall be final 
unless appealed from as hereinafter provided. — 17 Iowa, 
16. 

Sec. 1835. An appeal may be taken from the decision 
of the county superintendent to the superintendent of 
public instruction, in the same manner as provided in 
this chapter for taking appeals from the district board to 
the county superintendent, as nearly as applicable, except 
that he shall give thirty days' notice of the appeal to the 
county superintendent, and the like notice shall be given 
the adverse party. And the decision, when made shall be 
final. — 35 Iowa, 445; 35 Iowa, 448. 

Sec. 183G. Nothing in this chapter shall be so con- 
strued as to authorize either the county or state super- 
intendent to render a judgment for money, neither shall 
they be allowed any other compensation than is now allowed 
by law. All necessary postage must first be paid by the 
party aggrieved. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 45 

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 

Sec. 1577. The superintendent of public instruction 
shall be charged with the general supervision of all the 
county superintendents and all the common schools of the 
state. He may meet county superintendents in conven- 
tion at such points in the state as he may deem most 
suitable for the purpose, and by explanation and discus- 
sion endeavor to secure a more uniform and efficient ad- 
ministration of school laws. He shall attend teachers' 
institutes in the several counties of the state as far as 
may be consistent with the discharge of other duties im- 
posed by law, and assisted by lecture or otherwise in their 
instruction and management. He shall render a written 
opinion to any school officer askiug it, touching the 
exposition or administration of any school law, and shall 
determine all cases appealed from the decision of county 
superintendents. 

Sec. 1578. An office shall be provided for him at the 
seat of government, in which he shall file all papers, re- 
ports, and public documents transmitted to him by the 
county superintendents, each year separately, and hold 
the same in readiness to be exhibited to the governor, or 
to a committee of either house of the general assembly, 
at any time when required ; and he shall keep a fair record 
of all matters pertaining to his office. 

Sec. 1579. (As amended by Chap. 150, Laws of 1880.) 
After the adjournment of the eighteenth general assem- 
bly, and every four years thereafter, if deemed necessary, 
he may cause to be printed and bound in cloth the school 
laws and all amendments thereto, with such notes, rulings, 
forms and decisions as may seem of value to aid school 
officers in the proper discharge of their duties. Appro- 
priate reference shall be made to the previous law that 
has been amended or changed, so as clearly to indicate the 



4G SCHOOL LAWS OF lOVA. 

effect of such amendments or changes. He shall send to 
each county superintendent a number of copies sufficient 
to supply each school district in his county with one copy 
of such school laws, with decisions. He shall also cause 
to be printed and bound in paper covers the school laws, 
with notes and with forms necessary to be used in carry- 
ing out the school laws. The distribution of these laws in 
paper covers shall be made through the county auditor, 
under the direction of the secretary and auditor of state, 
who shall determine the price, covering the cost to the 
state, at which they shall be sold to any party ; provided, 
that he shall furnish each of the members of the boards 
of directors with one copy of the laws bound in paper 
covers, which shall be turned over to their successors in 
office. After such sessions of the general assembly as the 
state superintendent shall not deem it necessary to pub- 
lish the laws as provided for in this section, he shall cause 
to be published in pamphlet form all the amendments 
to the school laws passed by such general assembly, in 
sufficient numbers to supply each of the county superin- 
tendents and school officers of the state with one copy 
free of charge, which said amendments shall be sent to 
the several county superintendents for distribution. 
Sec. 1580. (Repealed by Chap. 102, Laws of 1878.) 
Sec. 1581. He may, if he deem it expedient, subscribe 
for a sufficient number of the Iowa School Journal, or of 
such other educational journal published in the state as he 
may select, to furnish each county superintendent with one 
copy, and his certificate of having thus subscribed shall 
be authority for the auditor of state to issue his warrant 
for the amount of said subscriptions; jjrovided, he shall 
cause to be inserted in the journal he may so select a 
correct copy of any decision he may deem it necessary to 
make for the efficient carrying out of the school law. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 47 

Sec. 1582. He shall annually, on the first day of 
January, report to the auditor of state the number of per. 
sons in ea>m county between the ages of five and twenty- 
one years. 

Sec. 1583. He shall make a report to the general as- 
sembly, at each regular sesion thereof, which shall em- 
brace, first, a statement of the condition of the common 
schools of the state; the number of district townships 
and subdistricts therein ; the number of teachers ; the 
number of schools ; the number of school-houses, and the 
value thereof; the number of persons between five and 
twenty-one years of age ; the number of scholars in each 
county that have attended school the previous year, as 
returned by the several county superintendents ; the 
number of books in the district libraries ; and the value 
of all apparatus in the schools, and such other statistical 
information as he may deem important. Second, such 
plans as he may have matured for the more perfect 
organization and efficiency of common schools. He shall 
cause one thousand copies of his report to be printed, and 
shall present it to the general assembly on the second day 
of its session. 

Sec. 1584. Whenever reasonable assurance shall be 
given by the county superintendent of any county to the 
superintendent of public instruction, that not less than 
twenty teachers desire to assemble for the purpose of 
holding a teachers' institute in said county, to remain in 
session not less than six working days, he shall appoint 
the time and place of said meeting, and give due notice 
thereof to the county superintendent ; and for the purpose 
of defraying the expenses of said institute, there is hereby 
appropriated, out of any moneys in the state treasury not 
otherwise appropriated, a sum not exceeding fifty dollars 
annually for one such institute in each county held as 



48 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

aforesaid, which the said superintendent shall immediately 
transmit to the county superintendent in whose county 
the institute shall be held, who shall therewith defray the 
necessary expenses of the institute, and, if any balance 
remains, he shall pay the same into the county treasury, 
and the same shall be credited to the teachers' fund. 

STATE UNIVERSITY. 

Sec. 1585. The objects of the state university, estab- 
lished by the constitution at Iowa City, shall be to provide 
the best and most efficient means of imparting to young 
men and women on equal terms, a liberal education and 
thorough knowledge of the different branches of litera- 
ture, the arts and sciences, with their varied applications. 
The university, so far as practicable, shall begin the 
courses of study in its collegiate and scientific depart- 
ments, at the points where the same are completed in 
high schools ; and no student shall be admitted who has 
not previously completed the elementary studies, in such 
branches as are taught in the common schools throughout 
the state. 

Sec. 1586. The university shall never be under the ex- 
clusive control of any religious denomination whatever. 

Sec. 1587. (As amended by Chap. 147, Laws of 1876.) 
The university shall be governed by a board of regents, 
consisting of the governor of the state, who shall be presi- 
dent of the board by virtue of his office, the superintend- 
ent of public instruction, who shall be a member by virtue 
of his office, and the president of the university, who shall 
also be a member by virtue of his office, together with one 
person from each congressional district of the state, who 

shall be elected by the general assembly. 

****** 

Sec. 1589. The university shall include a collegiate, 

scientific, normal, law, and such other departments, with 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 43 

such courses of instruction and elective studies as the 

board of regents may determine ; and the board shall 

have authority to confer such degrees, and grant such 

diplomas and other marks of distinction as are usually 

conferred and granted by other universities. 

****** 

Sec. 1596. The board of regents shall enact laws for 
the government of the university, and shall appoint a 
president and the requisite number of professors and 
tutors, together with such other officers as they may deem 
expedient, and shall determine the salaries of such officers 
the compensation cf the secretary and treasurer, and the 
amount of fees to be paid for tuition. They shall remove 
any officer connected with the university, when, in their 
judgment, the good of the institution requires it. 

Sec. 1597. The board of regents is authorized to ex- 
pend such portion of the income of the university fund as 
it may deem expedient, in the purchase of apparatus, 
library, and a cabinet of natural history, in providing 
suitable means to keep and preserve the same, and in 
procuring all other necessary facilities for giving instruc- 
tion. 

Sec. 1598. All specimens of natural history and geo- 
logical and mineralogical specimens, which are or here- 
after may be collected by the state geologist of Iowa, or 
by any others appoiuted by the state io investigate its 
natural history and physical resources shall belong to and 
be the property of the state university, and shall form a 
part of its cabinet of natural history, which shall be under 

the charge of the professor of that department. 

****** 

Sec. 1600. The president of the university shall make 
a report on the fifteenth day of September preceding the 
meeting of the general assembly, to the board of regents, 

4 



■50 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

which shall exhibit the condition and progress of the in- 
stitution in its several departments, the different courses 
of study pursued therein, the branches taught, the means 
and methods oi instruction adopted, the number of stu- 
dents, with their names, classes, and residences, and such 
other matters as he may deem proper to communicate. 

Sec. 1601. The board of regents shall, on the first day 
of October preceding each regular meeting of the general 
assembly, make a report to the superintendent of public 
instruction, which report, with that of the president of 
the university, shall be embodied in the said superintend- 
ent's report to the general assembly. The report of the 
board of regents shall contain the number of professors, 
tutors, and other officers, with the compensation of each, 
the condition of the university fund, and the income re- 
ceived therefrom, the amount of expenditures, and the 
items thereof, with such other information and recom- 
mendations as they may deem expedient to lay before the 
general assembly. 

COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS. 

Sec. 169?. Each county having a population of two 
thousand inhabitants or over as shown by the last state or 
federal census, may establish a high school on the condi-' 
tions and in the manner hereinafter prescribed, for the 
purpose of affording better educational facilities for pupils 
more advanced than those attending district schools, and 
for persons desiring to fit themselves for the vocation of 
teaching. 

ec. 1698. When one-third of the electors of a county, 
as shown by the returns of the last preceding election, 
shall petition the board of supervisors requesting that a 
county high school be established in their county at the 
placcin said petition named, then, or when said board in 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 51 

its discretion shall deem proper, said board shall give 
twenty days' notice previous to the next general election, 
or previous to a special election duly called for that pur- 
pose, that they will submit the question to the electors of 
said county whether such high schoolshall be established ; 
at which election said electors shall vote by ballot, for or 
against establishing such county high school. The notice 
contemplated in this section shall be given through one 
or more newspapers published in said county, if any be 
published therein, and by at least one written or printed 
notice to be posted in each township. 

Sec. 1G99 After said election, the ballots on said 
question shall be canvassed in the same manner as in the 
election for county officers : and if a majority of all the 
votes cast on said question shall be in favor of establish- 
ing said school, the board of supervisors shall immedi- 
ately proceed to appoint six persons, who shall be residents 
of the county, but not more than two of whom shall be 
residents of the same township, who shall, with the county 
superintendent of common schools, constitute a board of 
trustees for said high school. Each of said trustees ap- 
pointed as aforesaid shall hold his office until his successor 
is elected and qualified, and shall be required, within ten 
days after appointment, to qualify by taking the oath of 
office, and giving such bond as may be required by the 
said board of supervisors, for the faithful discharge of 
his duties. 

Sec. 1 700. At the next general election after said ap- 
pointment, there shall be elected in said county six high 
school trustees, who shall be divided into three classes of 
two each ; each class to hold their office one, two, and 
three years, respectively, and their respective terms to be 
decided by lot. And each year thereafter there shall be 
two such trustees elected to succeed those whose term is 



52 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

about to expire. And said trustees shall qualify and 
enter upon the duties of their office in the same manner, 
and at the same time as. other county officers. 

Sec. 1701. The county superintendent shall, by virtue 
of his office, be president of said board of trustees, and at 
their first meeting in each year, they shall appoint from 
their own number a secretary and treasurer, who shall per- 
form the usual duties devolving upon such officers forthe 
term of one year, or until their successors are appointed 
to take their places. 

Sec. 1702. At said meeting, or at some succeeding 
meeting called for such purpose, said trustees shall make 
an estimate of the amount of funds needed for building- 
purposes, for payment of teachers' wages, and for contin- 
gent expenses, and they shall present to the board of 
supervisors a certified estimate of the rate of tax required 
to raise the amount desired for such purposes. But in no 
case shall the tax for such purposes exceed in one year 
the amount of five mills on the dollar on the taxable 
property of the county, and, when the tax is levied for the 
payment of teachers' wages and contingent expenses only, 
shall not exceed two mills on the dollar. 
" Sec. 1703. The said tax shall be levied and collected 
in the same manner as other county taxes, and when col- 
lected the county treasurer shall pay the same to the 
treasurer of the county high school, in the same manner 
that school funds are paid to the district treasurers as 
required by law. 

Sec. 1704. The said treasurer of the high school shall 
give such additional bond as the board of trustees may 
deem sufficient, and receive all moneys from the county 
treasurer, and from other parties, that belong to the 
funds of said school, and pay the same out only by direc- 
tion of the board of trustees, upon orders duly executed 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 53 

by the president countersigned by the secretary thereof, 
stating the purpose for which they were drawn. Both 
the secretary and treasurer shall keep an accurate ac- 
count of all moneys received and expended for said 
school ; and at the close of each year, and as much 
oftener as required by the board, they shall ma*ke a full 
statement of the financial affairs of the school. 

Sec. 1705. The said board of trustees shall proceed 
as soon as practicable after their appointment as afore- 
said, to select the best site, in accordance with the 
vote of the county, that can be obtained without ex- 
pense to the same, and the title thereof shall be vested 
in said county. They shall then proceed to make such 
purchases of material, and to let such contracts for their 
necessary school buildings, as they may deem proper, 
but shall not make any purchase or contract in any 
year to exceed the amount on hand, and to be raised by 
the levy of tax that year. 

Sec. 1706. When said board of trustees shall have 
furnished a suitable building for the school, they shall 
employ some competent teacher to take charge of the 
same, and furnish such assistant teachers as they deem 
pessary, and provide for the payment of their salaries. 
a.s far as practicable, model schools shall be encouraged ; 
and advanced students, and those preparing to become 
teachers, may be employed a portion of their time in teach- 
ing the younger pupils, in order that they may become 
familiar with the practice as well as theory of successful 
school teaching, and also avoid, as far as practicable, the 
expense of employing other assistant teachers. 

Sec. 1707. Tuition shall be free to all pupils of such 
school residing in the county where the same is located. 
The board of trustees, however, shall make such general 
rules and regulations as they deem proper in regard to 



54 SCHOOL LAWS OF TOWA. 

age and grade of attainments essential to entitle pupils 
to admission in the school. If there should he more 
applicants then can be accommodated at any time, each 
district shall be entitled to send its equal proportion of 
pupils, according to the number of pupils it may have, 
as shown by the last report to the couuty superintendent 
of common schools. And the boards of the respective 
school districts shall designate such pupils as may attend. 

Sec. 1708. If, at any time, the school can accom- 
modate more pupils than apply for admission from that 
county, the vacancies may be filled by applicants from 
other counties, upon the payment of such tuition as the 
board of trustees may prescribe ; but at no time shall 
such pupils continue in said school to the exclusion of 
pupils belonging in the county in which such high school 
is situated. 

Sec. 1709. The principal of any such high school, 
witli the approval of the board of trustees, shall make 
such rules and regulations as he deems proper in regard 
to the studies, conduct and government of the pupils 
under his charge, and if any such pupils will not conform 
to and obey the rules of the school, they may be sus- 
pended or expelled therefrom by the board of trustees 

Sec. 1710. The said board of trustees shall an nually 
make a report to the board of supervisors of their county, 
which shall specify the number of students, both male 
ard female, who have been in attendance at the county 
high school during the year, the branches of learning 
taught, the text-books used, the number of teachers em- 
ployed, the amount of salary paid to them, the amount 
expended for library and apparatus, and for buildings 
and all other expenses; also, the amount of funds on 
hand, debts unpaid, and other information deemed im- 
portant or expedient to report. Said report shall be 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 55 

printed in at least one newspaper in the county, if any 
is published therein, and a copy of the report shall be 
forwarded to the state superintendent of public in- 
struction. 

Sec. 1711. The board of supervisors shall have power 
to fill any vacancy that may occur in the board of trus- 
tees of that county, by appointment, until the next 
general election, and a majority of such board of trus- 
tees shall be a quorum for the transaction of business. 

Sec. 1712. The board of supervisors may allow each 
member of the board of trustees the sum of two dollars 
per day for the time actually employed in the discharge 
of his official duties, and when such accounts are pre- 
sented for payment, they shall be audited and paid out 
of the county treasury, in the same manner as other 
accounts against the county, and said trustees shall not 
be entitled to any further remuneration for services or 
expenses. 



CHAPTER 64, LAWS OF 1874. 

Laws of the fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and 
Eighteenth General Assemblies. 

INDUSTRIAL EXPOSITIONS IN SCHOOLS. 

Section 1. It shall be the duty of the board of 
directors of independent school districts, and the sub- 
director of each subdistrict, if they should deem it ex- 
pedient, under the direction of the county superintendent, 
to introduce and maintain an industrial exposition in con- 
nection with each school under their control within this 
state. 

Sec. 2. These expositions shall consist of useful 
articles made by the pupils, such as samples of sewing, 



56 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

and cooking of all kinds, knitting, crocheting, and draw- 
ing, iron and wood-work of all kinds, from a plain box 
or horseshoe to a house or steam-engine in miniature; 
also, all other useful articles known to the industrial 
world, or that may be invented by the pupils, in connec- 
tion with farm and garden products in their season, that 
are the results of their own toil. 

Sec. 3. The pupils shall be required to explain the 
use and method of their work, and kind and process of 
culture of farm and garden products. 

Sec 4. The parents and friends of pupils shall be 
allowed and requested to be present at said expositions. 

Sec. 5. Ornamental work shall be encouraged when 
accompanied by something useful made by the same 
pupil. 

Sec. 6. These expositions shall be held in the school 
room upon a school day as often as once a term, and not 
oftener than once a month. 



CHAPTER 67, LAWS OF 1874. 

VOTING ON SCHOOL TAXES. 

Section 1. All school districts lying in two adjoin- 
ing counties shall have the right to vote mills, instead of 
specific sums, for school purposes. 



CHAPTER 129, LAWS OF 1876. 

(As amended by Chapter 142, Laws of 1878.) 
STATE NORMAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL. 

Section 1. A school for the special instruction and 
training of teachers for the common schools of this 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 57 

state is hereby established at Ceder Falls, in Black Hawk 
county. 

Sec. 2. The school shall be under the management 
and control of a board of directors consisting of six 
members, no two of whom shall be from the same county. 
They shall be elected by the general assembly, two for 
two years, two for four years, and two for six years, and 
the general assembly shall elect two members of said 
board every two years, for the full term of six years as 
the terms of office of the respective classes expire. Their 
term of office shall commence on the 1st day of June 
following their election. No member of the board shall 
be a teacher in the school or receive other compensation 
for his services than a re-imbursement of his actual ex- 
penses to be certified to by him and paid out of the 
state treasury. Any vacancy occurring in the board 
shall be filled by the appointment of the governor. 

Sec. 3. The board shall convene at the call of the 
superintendent of public instruction on or before June 
15, 1876, and having each qualified according to law, 
shall organize by the election of a president and vice- 
president from their number, and a secretary and a 
treasurer, who shall be persons not members of the 
board. The secretary shall receive such compensation 
as may be fixed by ttie board not to exceed the sum 
of one hundred dollars and actual traveling expenses. 
The treasurer shall receive re-imbursement of actual 
expenditures. 

Sec. 4. The board shall require a bond in the sum of 
twenty thousand dollars of the treasurer with proper and 
sufficient sureties, conditional for the safe keeping of 
funds coming into his hands. He shall receive and dis- 
burse all moneys hereby appropriated, and any other 
funds as the board may provide. The board may require 



58 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

of any officer or employe who may be authorized to receive 
or pay out money a like bond. 

Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the board, in every 
necessary manner with the means at their disposal, to 
provide for and carry out the object for which the school 
is established. For that purpose they shall employ com- 
petent and suitable teachers, and other employes. They 
shall direct, use, and control all the property of the state 
coming into their hands for that purpose. They shall 
control and direct the expenditure of all moneys. They 
shall make all necessary rules for the management of the 
school and the government thereof, and shall provide for 
the admission of pupils from the several counties of the 
state in proportion to their respective population and 
upon the appointment of respective boards of supervisors, 
or as the board may direct. They shall establish and 
publish uniform rules for the admission of pupils thereto 
and such rules shall provide for equal rights in said 
school to all the teachers in the state, but they shall re- 
quire in all cases satisfactory evidence of the good char- 
acter of the pupil. They shall also further require all 
pupils upon their admission to the school to sign a state- 
ment of their intention in good faith to follow the busi- 
ness of teaching in the schools of the state. It shall also 
be the duty of the board to make all possible and neces- 
sary arrangements with the means at their disposal for 
the boarding and lodging of pupils, but the pupils shall 
pay the cost of the same. They shall require each pupil 
to pay a fee for contingent expenses amounting to not 
more than one dollar per month. The school shall be 
open during such part of the year as the board shall 
determine but the session shall continue at least twenty- 
six weeks. The board of directors may in their discretion 
charge the pupils with a tuition fee not exceeding six 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 50 

dollars per term, if such charge shall be necessary in 
order to the proper support of the school as provided by 
law. 

Sec. 6. At the close of the year, and on or before the 
first day of July, 1876, it shall be the duty of the board 
of trustees of the Iowa soldiers' orphans' home, to deliver 
over to the board of directors provided for herein, the 
buildings and grounds at Cedar Falls, Iowa, now occupied 
by said home, transferring for that purpose the inmates 
of said home to the home at Davenport. They shall also 
at the same time turn over in like manner all the personal 
property at said home at Cedar Falls, except such as is 
necessary for, and adapted to, the personal use of such 
inmates at Davenport, and a careful inventory and ap- 
praisement thereof shall be made, and a proper voucher 
given therefor by said board of directors. 

Sec. 7. The board of directors shall at once proceed 
to make such improvements and changes in said build- 
ings and grounds as may be necessary to adapt the same 
to the use of said school, but without greater expense to 
the state than is provided for in this act, and shall, on 
or before September 10, 1876, open the same to the use 
and instruction of pupils. 

Sec. 8. in addition to the property, the use of which 
is hereby set apart for the purposes of the school, the fol- 
lowing sums are hereby appropriated for the establishment 
and maintenance thereof : 

For necessary improvement and repairs, three-thousand 
dollars. 

For salaries of teachers and employes, ten thousand 
dollars. 

For contingent expenses, fifteen hundred dollars. 

The amount appropriated for repairs and improvement* 
may be paid at any time, on the order of the board ; the 



60 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

remaining sums shall be paid in equal quarterly payments, 
commencing September 1, 1876. 

Sec. 9. The said board shall make, at the end of each 
school year to the superintendent of public instruction, a 
detailed report of their proceedings during the year. 
Their report shall also contain the number of teachers 
employed in the school, with the compensation of each ; 
the number of pupils, classified ; the amount of receipts 
and expenditures and the items thereof, with such other 
information and recommendations as they may deem ex- 
pedient, which report shall be embodied in the superin- 
tendent's report to the general assembly. 



CHAPTER 136, LAWS OF 1876. 

WOMEN ELIGIBLE TO SCHOOL OFFICES. 

Section 1. No person shall be deemed ineligible by 
reason of sex, to any school office in the state of Iowa. 

Sec. 2. No person who may have been or shall be 
elected or appointed to the office of county superin- 
tendent of common schools or school director in the 
state of Iowa, shall be deprived of office by reason of 
sex. 



CHAPTER 132, LAWS OF 1878. 

issuance of bonds by school districts to fund 
judgment indebtedness. 

Section 1. Any school district against which judg- 
ments have been rendered prior to the passage of this 
act, and which judgments remain unsatisfied, may, for 
the purpose of paying off such judgments and funding 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 6L 

such judgment indebtedness, issue upon the resolution of 
the board of directors of the district, the negotiable 
bonds of such district, running not more than ten years, 
and bearing a rate of interest not exceeding ten per 
centum per annum, payable semi-annually, which bonds 
shall be signed by the president of the district, and 
countersigned by the secretary, and shall not be disposed 
of for less than their par value, nor for any other 
purpose than that provided for by this act, and such 
bonds shall be binding and obligatory upon the district. 

Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the board of directors 
of any district which shall issue bonds under this act, to 
provide for the payment of the same by the levy of tax 
therefor, in addition to the other taxes provided by law r 
and they are hereby required to levy such an amount 
each year as shall be sufficient to meet the interest on 
such bonds promptly as it accrues. 

Sec. 3. The bonds issued under this act shall be in 
the name of the district and in substantially the same 
form as is by law provided for county bonds ; shall be 
payable at the pleasure of the district ; shall be registered 
in the office of the county auditor ; shall be numbered 
consecutively and redeemed in the order of their issuance* 



CHAPTER 133, LAWS OF 1878. 

(As amended by Chapter 131, Laws of 1880.) 
SUBDIVISION OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

Section 1. Any independent school district, organ- 
ized under any of the laws of this state, may sub- 
divide, for the purpose of forming two or more inde- 
pendent school districts, or have territory detached to be 



62 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

annexed with other territory in the formation of an inde^ 
pendent district or districts, and it shall be the duty of 
the board of directors of said independent district to 
establish the boundaries of the districts so formed, the 
district so formed not to contain less than four govern- 
ment sections of land each ; this limitation shall not apply 
when, by reason of a river or other obstacle, a considerable 
number of pupils will be accommodated by the formation of 
a district containing less than four sections, or where there 
is a city, town or village within said territory of not less 
than one hundred inhabitants, and in such cases the inde- 
pendent district so formed shall not contain less than two 
government sections of land, such subdivision to be effected 
in the manner provided for in sections 2, 3 and 4 of this 
chapter : provided, that when either of the districts so 
proposed to be formed contains less than four govern- 
ment sections, it shall require a majority of the votes of 
each of the proposed districts to authorize such subdi- 
vision. 

Sec. 2. At the written request of one-third of the 
legal voters residing in any independent school district, 
the board of directors of said independent district shall 
call a meeting of the qualified electors of the independ- 
ent district, at the usual place of holding their meeting, 
by giving at least ten days' notice thereof by posting 
three notices in the independent district sought to be 
divided, and by publication in a newspaper, if one be 
published in the independent district, at which meeting 
$ie electors shall vote by ballot for or against such sub- 
division. 

Sec. 3. Should a majority of the votes be cast in 
favor of such subdivision, the board or boards of 
directors shall call a meeting in each independent dis- 
trict so subdivided or formed as aforesaid for the 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 6& 

purpose of electing by ballot thiee directors, who shall 
hold their offices one, two and three years respectively, 
the length of their respective terms to be determined by 
lot; and but one director shall be chosen annually there- 
after, who shall hold his office for three years. ■ 

Sec. 4. At the meeting of the electors of each inde- 
pendent school district, as provided in the last section. 
they shall also determine by ballot the name to be given 
to their district, and each independent district, when so 
organized, shall be a body corporate, and the name so 
chosen shall be its corporate name; provided, that the 
board of directors of any district organized under the 
provisions of this act may change its name if any other 
district in the township shall have chosen the same name. 

Sec. 5. Independent districts organized under the 
provisions of this act shall be governed by the laws 
relating to independent districts. 



CHAPTER 1(5(5, LAWS OF 1878. 

TUITION OF FA L' PER CHILDREN. 

Section 1. Section 1381 of the Code is hereby 
amended by adding at the end of the section : The 
expense of the poor-house shall include such an amount 
of tuition for the instruction of the pauper children as 
the whole number of days' attendance of such pauper 
children is to the total number of days' attendance in the 
school at which such pauper children attend, and such 
amount shall be paid into the treasury of the district 
where said children attend. 



■64 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

CHAPTER 8, LAWS OF 1880. 

SEPARATE POLLING PLACES. 

Section 1. Independent school districts having a 
population of not less than fifteen thousand inhabitants 
shall be divided into not less than three, nor more than 
six election precincts, in each of which a poll shall be 
held at a convenient place to be appointed by the board 
of directors, for the reception of the ballots of the electors 
residing in such precinct at said election. 

Sec. 2. The board of directors shall provide for the 
submission of all questions relating to the powers reserved 
to the electors under section 180? of the Code, which 
questions shall be decided by ballot, returns to be made 
on questions submitted as hereinafter provided. 

Sec. 3 A register of the electors residing in each pre- 
cinct shall be prepared by the board of directors from the 
register of the electors of any city, town or township 
which is in whole or in part included within such inde- 
pendent school district ; and for that purpose a copy of 
such register of electors shall be furnished by the clerk 
of each such city, town or township to the board of 
directors. Said board shall, in each year before the 
annual election for directors, revise and correct such 
school election registers by comparison thereof with the 
last register of elections for such cities, towns and town- 
ships. And the register provided for by this section shall 
have the same force and effect at elections held under 
this act, and in respect to the reception of votes at said 
elections, as the register of elections has by law at general 
elections. 

Sec. 4. Notice of every election under this act shall 
be given in each district- in which the same is to be held, 
by the secretary thereof, by posting up the same in three 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 65 

public places in such district and by publication in a 
newspaper published therein for two weeks preceding 
such election ; such notice shall also state the respective 
election precincts, and the polling place in each precinct # 

Sec. 5. The board of directors shall appoint one of 
their own number and another elector of the district to 
act as judges of election, and a clerk for each polling 
place, who shall be sworn as provided by section 609 of 
the Code in case of general elections. The polls shall be 
open from 9 o'clock a. m. to 6 o'clock p. m. If either of 
the judges, or clerk, fail to attend, his place may be rilled 
by the others by appointing an elector attending in his 
place, and if all fail to attend in time, or refuse to serve 
or be sworn, the electors present shall choose two judges 
and a clerk from the electors attending. A ballot-box 
and the necessary poll-book shall be provided by the 
board of directors for each precinct, and the election 
shall be conducted in the same manner, and under the 
same rules and regulations, so far as applicable, as pro- 
vided by chapter 3 of title V of the Code, for general 
elections. 

Sec. 6. The judges of election and clerk in each pre- 
cinct shall canvass the vote therein, and shall as soon as 
possible, make out, sign and return to the secretary of 
the district a certificate showing the whole number of 
votes cast in such precinct, and the number of votes in 
favor of each person voted for, and questions submitted. 
The board of directors shall meet on the next Monday 
after the election and canvass the returns, and ascertain 
the result of the election. The whole number of votes 
cast, and the number in favor of each person voted for 
shall be entered in their record, and the persons respect- 
ively receiving the highest two numbers of votes shall be 
declared elected, and all questions submitted receiving a 

5 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 



majority of votes cast shall be recorded as carried. The 
secretary shall issue to each person so elected a certificate 
of his election. 

Sec. 7. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with 
this act are hereby repealed. 



CHAPTER 12, LAWS OF 1880. 

LOAN AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PERMANENT SCHOOL 
FUND. 

Section 1. The rate of interest on all permanent 
school funds loaned after January 1, A. D. 1880, shall 
not exceed eight per cent per annum from date of such 
loan. 

Sec 2. Interest not paid when due shall bear interest 
at the same rate as the principal. 

Sec 3. After July 1, A. D 1880, the counties having 
permanent school funds in control shall be charged only 
six per cent, instead of eight per cent, as now provided by 
the Code. 

Sec 4. Section 1846 of the Code is hereby amended 
by striking out the words " ten per cent," in the sixteenth 
and seventeenth lines, and inserting in lieu thereof the 
words " eight per cent." 

Sec 5. Section 1873 of the Code is hereby amended 
by adding at the end of the section the following ; "But 
in no case to exceed ten per cent on the amount for 
which judgment is rendered ; and in no case to exceed 
the sum of twenty -five dollars." 

Sec 6. Loans may hereafter be made to one person, 
or one company, to the amount of one thousand dollars ; 
provided, it is found impracticable to keep the whole 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. tj? 

amount of the funds loaned in sums of five hundred 
dollars or less. 

Sec. 7. All laws inconsistent with this act are hereby 
repealed. 



CHAPTER 51, LAWS OF 1880. 

To Enable School Districts or District Toivnships to 
Issue Bonds for the Purpose of Funding Judg- 
ment Indebtedness now Existing, Additional 
to Code, Title XII, Chapter 9. 

Section 1. Any school district or district township 
against which judgments have been rendered prior to the 
passage of this act, and which such judgments remain 
unsatisfied, may, for the purpose of paying off such 
judgment indebtedness, issue negotiable bonds of such 
district township, upon a resolution of the board of 
directors of the district township, running not more than 
ten years, and bearing a rate of interest not exceeding- 
eight per cent per annum, payable semi-annually, which 
bonds shall be signed by the president of the district 
and countersigned by the secretary, and shall not be 
disposed of for less than their par value, nor for any 
other purpose than that provided by this act, and such 
bonds shall be binding and obligatory upon the district 
township. 

Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the board of directors 
of any district township which issues bonds under this 
act, to provide for the payment of the same by the levy 
of tax therefor, iu addition to the other taxes provided 
by law ; and they are hereby required to levy such an 
amount each year as shall be sufficient to meet the inter- 
est on such bonds promptly as it accrues. 



$8 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

Sec. 3. The bonds issued under this act shall be in 
the name of the district township and in substantially 
the same form as is by law provided for county bonds ; 
shall be payable at the pleasure of the district township ; 
shall be registered in the office of the county auditor ; 
shall be numbered consecutively and redeemed in the 
order of their issuance. 



CHAPTER 132, LAWS OF 1880. 

Authorizing Independent School Districts or District 
Townships to Fund their Outstanding Bonded 
Indebtedness, and to Provide for the 
Payment of the Same. 

Section. 1. Any independent school district, or district 
township, now or hereafter having a bonded indebted- 
ness outstanding, is hereby authorized to issue negotiable 
bonds at any rate of interest not exceeding seven per 
cent per annum, payable semi-annually, for the purpose of 
funding said indebtedness ; said bonds to be issued upon 
a resolution of the board of directors of said district ; 
provided, that said resolution shall not be valid unless 
adopted by a two-thirds vote of said directors. 

Sec. 2. The treasurer of such district is hereby 
authorized to sell the bonds provided for in this act, at 
not less than their par value, and apply the proceeds 
thereof to the payment of the outstanding bonded indebt- 
edness of the district, or he may exchange such bonds 
for outstanding bonds, par for par ; but the bonds hereby 
authorized shall be issued for no other purpose than the 
funding of outstanding bonded indebtedness. The actual 
cost of the engraving and printing of such bonds shall 
be paid for out of the contingent fund of such district. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 69 

Sec. 3. Said bonds shall run not more than ten years 
and be payable at the pleasure of the district after five 
years from the date of their issue ; provided, that in 
order to stop interest on them the treasurer shall give the 
owner of said bonds ninety days' written notice of the 
readiness of the district to pay, and the amount it 
desires to pay ; said notice to be directed to the post- 
office address of the owner of the bonds; provided, 
further, that the treasurer shall keep a record of the 
parties to whom he sells the bonds, and their post-office 
address, and notice sent to the address as shown by said 
record shall be sufficient. 

Sec. 4. Said bonds shall be in denominations of not 
less than one hundred dollars and not more than one 
thousand dollars ; and said bonds shall be given in the 
name of the independent district, or district township, 
and signed by the president, and countersigned by the 
secretary thereof ; and the principal and interest may be 
made payable wherever the board of directors may by 
resolution determine. 

Sec. 5. When said bonds are delivered to the treasurer 
to be negotiated, the president shall take his receipt 
therefor, and the treasurer shall stand charged on his 
official bond with the amount of the bonds so delivered 
to him. 

Sec. 6. The tax for the payment of the principal and 
interest of said bonds shall be raised as provided in 
section 1823, chapter 9, title XII of the Code; provided, 
that if the district shall fail or neglect to so levy said 
tax the board of supervisors of the county in which said 
district is located shall, upon the application of the 
owner of said bonds, levy said tax. 

Sec. 7. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with 
this act are hereby repealed. 



70 SCHOOL iAWS OF IOWA. 

CHAPTER 111. 

Laws of the Nineteenth General Assembly. 

LAWS OF 1882. 

An Act to legalize contracts made by school officers for the insur- 
ance of school buildings, and to legalize warrants or orders 
issued therefor. 

Whereas, Subclirectors and officers of school boards 
in various school districts and district townships within 
this state have insured their respective school-houses 
against loss by fire, and issued orders or warrants therefor, 
believing that they had the authority of law so to do ; 
therefore, 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa: 

Section 1. That any and all contracts heretofore 
made by subdirectors, or by any board of directors or 
officers of any district township or of any independent 
school district within this state for insuring school-houses 
or school furniture against loss by fire within their re- 
spective districts, and all insurance policies issued in pur- 
suance of such contracts, be and the same are hereby 
made as valid, legal, and binding as though such directors 
and school officers had been authorized by law to make 
such contracts for insurance. 

Sec. 2. That all warrants, orders, or other evidences 
of indebtedness heretofore issued by the officers of any 
school districts within this state for the insurance of 
school-houses and school furniture be, and the same are 
hereby made as legal, binding, and valid as though the 
law had authorized the issue and making of the same by 
such officers. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 71 

CHAPTER 118. 

An Act to include all the territory of an incorporated city or town 
within the independent school district, or districts, now exist- 
ing, or hereafter to be formed. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa: 
Section 1. That all the territory of an incorporated 
city or town, whether included within the original incor- 
poration or afterwards attached thereto in accordance 
with the provisions of law, shall be or become a part of 
the independent district, or districts, of said city or town. 
Sec. 2. When boundaries are changed by the taking 
effect of this act, the respective boards of directors shall 
make an equitable settlement of the then existing assets 
and liabilities of their districts, as provided for by section 
1715 of the Code. 



CHAPTER 149. 

An Act to enable boards of directors of independent school dis- 
tricts to insure school property. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa: 
Section 1. That the board of directors of any inde- 
pendent school district, organized under any of the laws 
of this state, may use unappropriated contingent funds 
for the purpose of effecting an insurance on the school 
property of their district ; but they may contract no debts 
for this purpose. 



CHAPTER 167. 

An Act to create a state educational board of examiners, and to 
encourage training in the science and art of teaching. 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa: 

Section 1. The superintendent of public instruction, 

the president of the State University, the principal of the 



72 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

State Normal School, and two persons, to be appointed 
by the executive council, one of whom shall be a woman, 
for terms of four years : provided, that of the two first 
appointed, one shall be for two years; and provided 
further, that no one shall be his own successor in said 
appointments ; are hereby constituted a State board of 
examiners, with the superintendent of public instruction 
as ex officio its president. 

Sec. 2. The board shall meet at such times and places 
as its j^resident shall direct for transaction of business, 
and shall hold annually at least two public examinations 
of teachers, at each of which examinations one member 
of the board shall preside, assisted by such well qualified 
teachers, not to exceed two in number, as the board of 
examiners may elect. Said board may adopt such rules, 
not inconsistent herewith and with the statutes of Iowa, 
as they may deem proper ; and said board shall keep a 
full record of their proceedings, and a complete register 
of all persons to whom certificates and diplomas are 
issued. 

Sec. 3. Said board shall have power to issue state 
certificates and state diplomas to such teachers as are 
found, upon examination, to possess good moral charac- 
ter, thorough scholarship, clear and comprehensive knowl- 
edge of didactics, and successful experience in teaching. 

Sec. 4. Candidates for state certificates shall be ex- 
amined upon the following branches : Orthography, read- 
ing, writing, arithmetic, geography, English grammar, 
book-keeping, physiology, history of the United States, 
algebra, botany, natural philosophy, drawing, civil gov- 
ernment, constitution and laws of Iowa, and didactics ; 
and candidates for state diplomas shall pass examination 
upon all branches required by candidates for state certifi- 
cates, and in addition thereto in geometry, trigonometry, 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 73 

chemistry, zoology, geology, astronomy/political economy, 
rhetoric, English literature and general history, and such 
other branches as the board of examiners may require. 

Sec. 5. A state certificate shall authorize the person 
to whom it is issued to teach in any public school of the 
state for the term of five years from the date of its issue, 
and a state diploma shall be valid for the life of the per- 
son to whom it is issued ; provided, that any state certifi- 
cate, and any state diploma, may be revoked by the board 
of examiners for any cause of disqualification, on well- 
founded complaint entered by any county superintendent 
of schools. 

Sec. 6. The fee for each state certificate shall be three 
dollars, and for each state diploma five dollars, which fee 
shall be paid before examination to such person as the 
board of examiners may designate from their own number, 
and the same shall be paid into the state treasury when 
so collected; provided, that if said applicant shall fail in 
said examination one-half of the fee shall be returned. 

Sec. 7. Every holder of a state certificate, or of a 
state diploma, shall have the same registered by the county 
superintendent of schools of the county in which he 
wishes to teach, before entering upon his work, and each 
county superintendent of schools is required to include in 
his annual report to the superintendent of public instruc- 
tion, a full account of the registration of state certificates 
and diplomas. 

Sec. 8. Each member of the state educational board 
of examiners, and each person appointed by said board 
to assist in conducting examinations, as provided for in 
section 2 of this act, shall be entitled to receive for the 
time actually employed in such service his necessary 
expenses. And provided further, that each member of said 
board, not a salaried officer, shall, in addition to his 



74 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

necessary expenses, receive the sum of three dollars per 
day he or she is actually employed in said examination, 
which amounts shall be certified by the superintendent 
of public instruction ; and the auditor of state is hereby 
authorized to audit and draw his - warrant for the same 
upon the treasurer of state, provided the aggregate 
amount for any one year shall not exceed three hundred 
dollars. 

Sec. 9. The board of examiners shall keep a detailed 
and accurate account of all moneys received and expended 
by them, which, with a list of the names of persons 
receiving certificates and diplomas, shall be published by 
the superintendent of public instruction in his annual 
report. 



CHAPTER 103, LAWS OF 1884. 

Prohibiting the use of Barb Wire. 

Section 1. It is hereby made the duty of the board of 
directors of every independent district and every district 
township to remove before the first day of September, 
A. D. 1884, any barb wire fence enclosing in whole or 
in part any public school grounds in such district, and it 
is also made the duty of any person owning or control- 
ling any barb wire fence within ten feet of any public 
school grounds to remove the same within the time 
herein above named. 

Sec. 2. Hereafter barb wire shall not be used in 
enclosing in whole or in part any public school building 
or the grounds upon which the same may stand ; and no 
barb wire shall be used for a fence or other purpose with- 
in ten feet of any public school ground. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 



75 



Sec. 3. For a failure or neglect on the part of any 
board of directors of any independent district or of any 
district township to carry out the provisions of this act 
any member of such board shall be fined, on conviction, 
not exceeding twenty-five dollars. Any persou violating 
the provisions of this act shall, on conviction thereof be 
fined not exceeding twenty-five dollars. 




PART II 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 



JVotes of Department of Public Instruction* 

SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

Section 1713. The design of the law is that civil and district 
township boundaries shall coincide. When new civil townships 
are formed, the corresponding changes in district township bound- 
aries take effect at the next subdistrict election. See sections 
1715 and 1796. 

Sec. 1714. In case the board is reduced below a quorum, by 
resignation or otherwise, the township trustees should call a 
special election to fill the vacancies. The ballots in such elec- 
tion, in independent districts, should indicate in whose place the 
person voted for shall serve. In independent districts five no- 
tices should be posted, as provided. in sections 1742 and 1801 ; 
in district townships, three notices are required in each subdis- 
trict, as provided in section 1718. 

Sec 1715. (a) New district townships are not organized until 
the first Monday in March after the election of officers of the 
civil townships. 

(b) When subdistricts are divided by changes in civil town- 
ship boundaries, the old board should incorporate the several 
parts with other subdistricts, or otherwise provide for such ter- 
ritory, so that all electors may vote at the following subdistrict 
election; in the absence of such action, the territory properly 
belongs to the subdistrict which it adjoins, and the electors are 
entitled to vote therein. The boundaries of subdistricts lying 
wholly within the old or new districts, are not affected by the 
division of civil townships. 

*The Section numbers here refer to the Section numbers in Text of School 
Laws, Part I. 

77 



78 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

(c) Five days before the time for the regular subdistrict elec- 
tion (first Monday in March) written notices should be posted in 
three public places in each subdistrict, in both the old and new 
townships, by the resident subdirector; in subdistricts, where 
there is no subdirector, by the secretary. 

(d) Assets include school-houses, sites, and all other property 
and moneys belonging to the district. Liabilities include all 
debts for which the district in its corporate capacity is liable. 
In determining the assets, school property should be estimated 
at its present cash value. Each fund should be divided sep- 
arately between the districts, in proportion to the last assessed 

•alue of the property, real and personal. Any portion of the 
teachers' fund however, derived from the semi-annual apportion- 
ment, should be divided in proportion to the number of persons 
between the ages of five and twenty-one years, according to the 
last school enumeration. 

(e) School-houses will usually become the property of the dis- 
trict in which they are situated. If their value exceeds the 
amount justly due the district, and there is not sufficient school- 
house fund on hand to equalize the division, the board should 
determine the amount which each district should receive or pay. 
Any equitable arrangement, which will be mutually satisfactory 
to the parties in interest, will be in accordance with the intent of 
the law. Any agreement that is entered into should be reduced 
to writing, and entered in the records of each of the districts 
interested. 

(/) "The districts, after the division, which do not receive 
their just proportion of school-house property, have a claim 
against those that do obtain more than their due share. The 
last named are indebted to the first in the difference." District 
Township of Williams v. District Township of Jackson, 36 
Iowa, 216. 

If money is received by one which belongs to another, the rule 
is a general one that the law implies a promise on the part of the 
receiver to pay it over. Based upon this implied promise, an 
action may be maintained for its recovery. And this rule 
applies to corporations as to individuals. District Township of 
Norway v. District Township of Clear Lake, 11 Iowa, 506. In 
this case, the district township of Clear Lake having been divided 
so as to form two district townships, the following spring it 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. i\) 

received all the funds apportioned by the clerk of the board of 
supervisors, and Norway brought suit and recovered a just portion 
of the same. 

(g) A simple and just method of disposing of unpaid and 
delinquent taxes, also of all the funds in the hands of the county 
treasurer, and not available (see section 1785), is to direct the 
payment of such funds in such a manner that taxes derived from 
any part of the territory shall be paid to the district to which such 
territory will then belong. 

Sec 1716. In suits, contracts, and conveyances, the corporate 
name should be strictly observed. A subdistrict is not a corpora- 
tion, and hence can neither hold property nor perform any cor- 
porate act. 

DISTRICT TOWNSHIP MEETING. 

Sec. 1717. (a) District townships are authorized to hold only 
one meeting in each year, except as provided by section 17173^,. 
The meeting cannot be adjourned to another day. Ten days' 
previous notice of this meeting should be given by the district 
township secretary, section 1742 ; but as the law fixes the day of 
the meeting of the electors of the district township, and also of 
the subdistrict, a failure to give full notice, or any notice at all, 
though a violation of law, will not invalidate the proceedings of 
the meeting, if one be held at the usual time and place. Dishon 
v. Smith, 10 Iowa, 212. 

(b) The president and secretary of the board are the regular 
officers of this meeting, and should act as such, if present. Sec- 
tions 1739 and 1741. 

(c) School-houses can not be sold without a previous vote of 
the electors, but their action in voting a tax for the erection of a 
new school-house on the old site gives the board authority to 
remove or dispose of the old house. 

(d) If the electors, at the district township meeting on the sec- 
ond Monday in March, direct that any additional branches shall 
be taught in any or all of the schools in the district township, 
their action is mandatory, and the board are bound to endeavor in 
good faith to fulfill the wishes of the electors. Failing to do 
so, the board can be compelled by mandamus to show reason why 
they have not complied with the request of the electors. 

(e) All school-house taxes must be voted by the electors of the 



80 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

subdistrict, or district township ; this power can not be delegated 
to the board. This vote may be taken by ballot, or viva voce. 

The specific sum of money deemed necessary, and not a certain 
number of mills on the dollar, should be voted. The per centum 
necessary to raise this sum is determined by the board of supervis- 
ors. See sections 1777 and 1780. 

(/) The tax for procuring district libraries can not be used to 
purchase text-books for the use of scholars. Money can only be 
paid out for the purchase of a district library which has been 
voted for that purpose by the electors at the regular March 
meeting. 

(g) Any other mingling of funds than provided for in subdi- 
vision four is a violation of law. 

(h) The electors frequently assume powers not granted to 
them by the law. They have only such powers as are specifically 
enumerated in the law. 

SUBDISTRICT MEETING. 

Sec 1718. (a) ; *No district township or subdistrict meeting 
shall organize earlier than 9 a. m., nor adjourn before 12 m." 
Section 1789. The meeting should not be called later than 6 p. 
m. The law contemplates at least three hours for the election. 
Iowa Reports, 37, 131; 39, 381. 

(b) No minor, non-resident nor alien can take part in a meet- 
ing of electors. To be entitled to the right of suffrage a person 
must be a male citizen of the United States, twenty-one years of 
age, a resident of the State six months next preceding the elec- 
tion, and of the county sixty days. Constitution, article 2, section 
1. The election must be by ballot. Constitution, article 2, sec- 
tion 6. 

(c) A person who acts as chairman at a school election is enti- 
tled to his vote as much as any other elector. 

(d) Any election held by the people must be held on the day 
designated, and officers must be elected by a single ballot. The 
person receiving the greatest number of votes is elected, even 
though he has not received a majority of all the votes cast. 

(e) The electors of a subdistrict may, at their regular meeting 
in March, determine what amount is required for the erection of 
a school-house in said subdistrict. A sum, in the aggregate, may 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 81 

be voted, and the subdirector should certify the same to the next 
district township meeting held thereafter. Section 1778. 

If the subdistrict does not wish to have such a tax levied upon 
the 11 selves, they should simply prefer a request for a sufficient 
amount to build a school-house in their subdistrict. 

(/) If subdistrict boundaries are in controversy by way of 
appeal, the election for subdirectors should be made on the basis 
of the status of the subdistricts on the day of election. 

Sec. 1719. (a) The chairman and secretary are not required 
to qualify. 

(b) Chapter 7, laws of eighteenth general assembly provides 
how a tie vote shall be decided. 

Sec 1720. (a) The board of directors of a district township 
cannot consist of less than three members. The subdirector from 
the district at large should be voted for at both subdistrict meet- 
ings. To avoid confusion the ticket should specify : For subdi- 
rector, A. B. ; for subdirector at large, C. D. 

(b) Where there is but one subdistrict in a district township 
the subdistrict meeting should be held at some central point, on 
the first Monday in March, for the election of three subdirectors, 
five days' notice of which should be given by the district secre- 
tary, as directed by section 1718; and another meeting will be 
held on the second Monday in March, as provided by section 1717, 
the powers and duties of the two meetings being entirely separate 
and distinct, the first being a subdistrict, the second a district 
township meeting. 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

Sec 1721. (a) The right or title to hold office can not be de- 
termined by an appeal to the county superintendent. The proper 
remedy for any person aggrieved by the action of the board relat- 
ing thereto is a petition to the circuit or district court under the 
provisions of sections 3345-3352, Code. 

(b) The failure or refusal of the proper officer to " issue a cer- 
tificate to a person duly elected to an office (subdirector) cannot 
operate to deprive such person of his rights." "The certificate 
or commission is the best, but not the only evidence of an election, 
and if that be refused secondary evidence is admissible." McCrary 
on elections, section 171. 

(c) Business done by the new board of directors on the second 



82 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

Monday of March is void, because their term of office does not 
begin until the third Monday of March. All such business done, 
including the re-organization, should be re-enacted at a subse- 
quent meeting to make it legal. 

(d) It is quite customary for the outgoing board to meet on the 
third Monday in March and complete all their work, and for the 
new board to organize immediately thereafter. The legality or 
propriety of their doing so has never been questioned. 

(e) Directors continue in office until the third Monday in March, 
and until their successors are elected and qualified. A president 
whose term as director has expired can take no further part in the 
proceedings of the board, even though a new president has not 
yet been chosen. 

(/) Where the law requires a certain duty to be performed by 
the board upon a fixed day, as for instance the election of a secre- 
tary and a treasurer (see sections 1721 and 1802), an adjournment 
of the meeting to another fixed date will allow the transaction of 
the same business which was directed to be done on the day of 
the regular meeting. 

(g) When the treasurer is chosen from the members of the 
board, under section 1721, his ceasing to be a member of the board 
in March does not terminate his relation as a treasurer of the dis- 
trict until September following. 

(h) A person cannot remain an officer or member of the board 
of directors and reside in another district, even though in the same 
civil township. 

(i) No person can hold two of the offices of the board at the 
same time. 

(J) A member or officer of the board must have the qualifica- 
tions of an elector, if a male; but no person shall be deemed inel- 
igible, by reason of sex, to any school office. See chapter 136, laws 
of 1876. 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

Sec 1722. (a) The intention of the amendment is to author- 
ize boards of directors of district townships to hold meetings 
in an independent district within the civil township. Chapter 
44, laws of eighteenth general assembly, legalized all meetings 
of this kind heretofore held. 

(b) Section 1738 provides that a majority of the board shall 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 83 

constitute a quorum. Any duty imposed upon the board as a 
body must be performed at a regular or special meeting, and 
made a matter of record ; The consent of the board to any par- 
ticular measure, obtained of individual members when not in 
session, is not the act of the board, and is not binding upon the 
district township. If a contract is made without authority from 
the board, the individuals making such contract are personally 
liable. 

(c) Special meetings should be convened by a written call, 
signed either by the president or a majority of the members and 
each member should be duly notified of the purpose of the meet- 
ing, as far as known. 

Sec 1723. (a) It is the duty of the board of directors to 
make contracts for the erection of school-houses, when the means 
have been provided by the electors. If the subdirector is ap- 
pointed a committee for this purpose it should be with certain limi- 
tations, and the contract should be reported to the board for ap- 
proval, as provided by section 1753. No member has authority to 
make a contract in behalf of the district, except under specific in- 
structions of the board. Before making a contract great pains 
should be taken to obtain the best possible plan for the building.. 
On this point the law requires consultation with the county 
superintendent. 

{b) Contracts for the erection or repair of school-houses, or for 
material for the same, exceeding $300, cannot be entered into 
until proposals have been published at least twenty-eight days. 
Repairs include seats, desks, etc. 

(c) If members or officers of the board intentionally violate 
law they become personally liable. See Iowa Reports, 14, 510: 
17, 155; 24, 337; and 38, 47. "If an agent make a valid contract 
without authority he is himself bound thereby.'' Andrews & 
Co. v. Tedford, 37 Iowa, 314. Contracts made in violation of 
the terms of this section are illegal. Their fulfillment may be 
prevented by injunction. 

id) Any unappropriated school-house funds may be disposed 
of by the electors, under section 1717, for improvements, such as 
fencing school-house sites, providing wells, etc., and the board, 
under section 1723, are required to carry out the vote of the 
dectors. 

(s) Any unappropriated school-house fund in the district 



84 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

treasury may be used for the erection or repair of school-houses, 
at the discretion of the board, without action of the electors. 

(/) A board of directors cannot form a partnership with any 
other party in the building of a school-house. School-houses are 
to be under the absolute control of the board. This does not 
prevent the receiving of donations and granting privileges under 
notes (i) and (&). Section 1753. 

{g) The board cannot be required I o commence the construc- 
tion of a house until means to a reasonable extent have been pro- 
vided. Boards should not involve the district in an indebtedness 
for the erection of school-house-, by contracts, or the issue of 
orders to exceed the amount voted by the electors. 

(h) District townships have no authority to issue bonds or 
other evidences of indebtedness for the purpose of borrowing 
money. See opinion of attorney-general, School Journal for 
April, 1868, 210. 

(i) No district can become indebted in any manner, or for any 
purpose, to an amount, in the aggregate, exceeding five per cent 
on the value of its taxable property. Constitution, article 11, 
section 3. Winspear v. District Township of Holman, 37 Iowa, 
542. 

(J) Public school-houses are exempt from sale on execution 
Code, section 3048. 

(k) A board of directors of a school district may bind a cor- 
poration by contracts entered into after the election of their suc- 
cessors and before their qualification. Dubuque Female College 
v. District Township City of Dubuque, 13 Iowa, 555. While in- 
stances mag occur in which the interests of the district will be 
subserved by making contracts with teachers and others, which 
will not expire for months after a change of officers, courtesy as 
well as justice dictates the impropriety of making contracts 
whose execution will embarrass successors in office. Ordinarily 
the new board should make contracts for the year during which 
they serve. 

(I) The force and effect of any motion adopted by the board 
of directors does not terminate with a change of officers or mem- 
bers, but remain in force until repealed. Thompson v. Linn, 35 
Iowa, 361. 

(m) A board of directors may ratify or adopt such acts of offi- 
cers de facto as the law would permit officers de jure to perform. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 85 

Dubuque Female College v. District Township City of Dubuque, 
13 Iowa, 555. 

(») The board of directors can authorize any person or number 
of persons to perform an act which was within the power of the 
board. 

Sec. 1724. (a) The power to locate sites for school-houses is 
vested, originally, exclusively in the board of directors. This 
authority should be exercised with great care, and without prej- 
udice; and the wishes of the people for whom the house is de- 
signed, should be consulted as far as practicable, taking into 
account the prospective as well as the present convenience of 
the people of the subdistrict. 

(b) A site near the center of the subdistrict should be chosen, 
unless controlling circumstances indicate a different selection. 
The site should contain not less than one acre of ground, ordi- 
narily. 

(c) The power of the board of directors to fix the site for a 
school-house carries with it the power to re-locate that site. The 
exercise of this power is a proper and necessary adjunct of the 
power to make alterations in the boundaries of the subdistricts. 
The extension of settlements frequently changes the centers of 
population and necessitates a change of subdistrict boundaries, 
and the removal of school-houses to central localities in the new- 
sub districts. Vance v. District Township of Wilton, 23 Iowa, 408 

(d) Every new site must be selected on some public highway, 
at least forty rods from any residence, the owner whereof ob- 
jects to its being placed nearer, and not in any orchard, garden, 
or public park, except in incorporated towns or cities. Section 
1826. Sites located prior to April 26, 1870, when the provisions 
of this section took effect, are not affected by its provisions; the 
board may rebuild upon any such sites still in possession of the 
district. 

(e) A school-house site, located by the county superintendent 
upon appeal cannot be changed by the board of directors, until 
the condition of the district is materially changed. But the fact 
that the superintendent has simply affirmed the action of the 
board in locating a site does not estop the board from re-locating 
the site whenever the interests of the district may require. 

(0 Since a change of boundaries between subdistricts does not 
take effect until the subdistrict meeting in March, the board may 



86 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

not move the school-house to accommodate the proposed new dis- 
trict until after that time. 

(g) As regards the length of time during which schools are to 
be taught in each subdistrict, twenty-four weeks is the mini- 
mum. Section 1727. The maximum is unlimited, except as by 
section 1780, providing a limit in the amount of taxes for teach- 
ers' fund. 

Sec. 1725. (a) All changes in subdistrict boundaries must 
be made in conformity with the provisions of sections 1738 and 
1796. 

(b) The board cannot form a subdistrict containing less than 
fifteen persons of school age, nor build a school-house for the 
accommodation of a less number, except in subdistricts formed 
prior to September 1, 1873, which are not affected by this pro- 
viso. 

(c) No change can be made by the board which leaves any sub- 
district with less than fifteen persons of school age. 

(d) In an organized subdistrict, even though there are not 
fifteen persons of school age, a school must be held, unless the 
board are excused by the county superintendent. The board may 
discontinue a subdistrict by a re-adjustment of boundaries such 
change taking effect in March following. 

(e) All the territory of a district township must be included in 
some subdistrict. 

(/) A subdistrict is not a corporate body and has therefore no 
financial claims, nor can it be held liable for debts, except as a 
part of the district township. 

(g) The board cannot provide an extra school for a less number 
than five persons of school age. The words pupils and scholars, 
as used in this section, mean persons between the ages of five and 
twenty-one years. 

Sec. 1726 (a) The law does not prescribe the branches that 
shall be taught in the public schools, further than to require all 
teachers to be qualified to teach certain branches enumerated in 
section 1766. Boards of directors are empowered, by virtue of 
the authority to establish gra.led schools, and of the general 
supervisory and discretionary powers with which they are invested 
to prescribe courses of study and branches to be taught in the 
schools of their district. A course of study should be prescribed 
by the board in every district, to which the electors may add 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 87 

additional branches, as provided by section 1717. A graded 
school, open to the older and more advanced scholars from every 
subdistrict, may be advantageously established at some central 
point in every district township. 

(b) In the absence of instruction by the electors, the board of 
directors should decide what branches, if any, besides those in a 
teacher's examination, shall be taught. But it is not within the 
province of individual parties to demand instruction outside of 
the branches usually taught. 

(c) If it is understood that the principal of a school has charge 
of other rooms besides his own, he has the same power in man- 
aging the children that is by law given to teachers. 

Sec. 1727 (a) The requirements of this section are imperative. 
A school shall be taught in each subdistrict, but if the county 
superintendent is fully satisfied, after a careful investigation of 
the facts, that it is impracticable, he may release the board of 
directors from their obligation. The board of directors may 
establish more than one school in a subdistrict, if necessary for 
the accommodation of the children, subject to the limitations 
contained in sections 1725 and 1780. 

(b) Under section 1724, the board of directors have power to 
provide for a longer period of school than twenty-four weeks; 
this increase of time must apply alike to all the subdistricts, but 
does not apply to extra schools granted. 

(c) When two school-houses are within the same district, or 
subdistrict, a school of three months in each, held at the same 
time, does not fulfill the requirements of the law, that a school 
of at least twenty-four weeks shall be taught in each subdistrict. 

(d) The school year, for school purposes, should be regarded as 
beginning on the third Monday in March, when a new board of 
directors enter upon their duties. 

(e) All the youth of the State, from five to twenty-one years of 
age, irrespective of religion, race, or nationality, are entitled to 
the same school facilities. Whi'e schools may be graded accord- 
ing to the proficiency of pupils, no discrimination based on color 
— such, for instance, as requiring colored pupils to attend separate 
schools — can be enforced. Clark v. Independent District of Mus- 
catine, 24 Iowa, 266. 

(/) Persons over twenty-one years of age are not entitled to 
the benefits of the public schools, except as provided in the latter 



88 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

part of this section. If, however, the school is not full, they and 
non-residents may be admitted, in the discretion of the board, 
upon such equitable terms as the board may prescribe. Children 
under five years of age will be more injured by the confinement 
than benefited by the instruction. They cannot claim the advan- 
tages of the school, and should not be admitted. 

Sec 1728. (a) This section only implies the power of the 
board to adopt text-books for their schools, but to avoid the great 
variety of text-books used in the schools and too frequent changes 
of the same, we think the board should exercise their authority by 
adopting text-books, having due regard to those in common 
use. 

(b) The change of any one text-book in the school does not pre- 
vent the board from changing any or all other books at a subse- 
quent time. Neither the subdirector nor teacher has authority to 
change text-books. 

c) The electors may not vote, nor the board appropriate, 
money for the purchase of text-books for the use of the district. 
The board are not prohibited from buying text books and selling 
them to scholars at cost, if the board choose to do so upon their 
own responsibility. 

Sec. 1729. (a) Purchases under the provisions of this section, 
must be made by order of the board when in session. 

(b) The supreme court, in a recent ruling, prohibit the use of 
contingent fund for any purpose except those mentioned in this 
section and in section 1748. 

Sec 1730. (a) A vacancy can be created only by death, removal, 
resignation, or failure to elect at the proper election, there 
being no incumbent to continue in office. Code, section 781. A 
failure to elect or to qualify does not create a vacancy, for the incum- 
bent, whether elected or appointed, continues in office "until his 
successor is elected and qualified." Code, section 784. If the 
incumbent does not qualify, a vacancy exists. Code, sections 690 
and 686. Neither does a change in the boundaries of subdistricts 
create a vacancy, for the change does not take effect until the next 
subdistrict election. If a subdistrict is divided, so as to form a new 
one, the subdirector will continue to act as though no change had 
been made, until the expiration of his official term. Section 1796, 
proviso, and note; also section 1721 and notes. 

(b) If a person without the requisite qualifications, is elected a 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 89 

member of the board and acts with the board, be'ing a member de 
facto, his acts will be valid; but when his disqualification becomes 
known, the board should declare the place vacant and appoint his 
successor. 

(c) School directors may resign at any time. A verbal resig- 
nation may be tendered to the board when in session, or a written 
resignation may be handed to some member of the board to be 
presented at a subsequent meeting, for the acceptance of the 
board. No person can be compelled to serve against his wishes. 

(d) When a director habitually neglects the duties of his office, 
he maybe compelled by mandamus to perform them. 

(e) Boards of directors have no authority to remove any mem- 
ber or officer of the board. Such removal can be made only by 
the courts as provided by sections 746-750, Code of 1873. 

(/) In case the board is reduced below a quorum by resigna- 
tion, or otherwise, the township trustees should call a special elec- 
tion to fill — vacancies as provided by section 1714; see also sec- 
tion 1738. 

Sec. 1731. (a) The law requires all official bonds to be secured 
by at least two sureties, who are freeholders, and whose aggregate 
property is double the amount of the bond ; the oath of office to be 
subscribed on the back of the bond, or attached thereto, and the 
sureties to make affidavit that they are worth the amount named 
in the bond. Code, sections 249, 250, 675, and 679. As the 
bonds of the secretary and treasurer must be approved by the 
board, no member should become surety for these officers. 

(b) Any officer whose duty it is to give bonds for the proper 
discharge of the duties of his office, and who neglects so to do, is 
guilty of a misdemeanor, and is liable to a fine. See section 684. 
Code' of 1873. 

(c) A board approving bonds which they know to be insuffi- 
cient, do not discharge the duty incumbent upon them, and are 
liable under section 3965, Code of Iowa, on a charge of misde- 
meanor. See also, 14 Iowa, 510 and 18 Iowa, 153. 

Sec 1732. (a) The interests and protection of the tax-payers 
require that such settlement should be made at least twice a year, 
and more frequently if deemed necessary, and the settlement at 
the end of the term requires that the funds and property shall be 
produced and fully accounted for, and that these facts should be 
indorsed upon the bond of the treasurer, if he is re-elected. See 



90 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

section 690, Code of 1873, as quoted in note (c) to section 1751, and 
also preface to these laws. 

(&) This section contemplates that a full report of the affairs 
of the district shall be made by the board at each annual meeting 
of the electors This work appropriately devolves upon the presi- 
dent unless the board designate some other member. When prac- 
ticable, the report should be published. 

Sec. 1733. (a) All demands, whether by contract or otherwise, 
must be approved by the board of directors when in session, be. 
fore an order can be drawn on the district treasury, for them, and 
no officer can draw an order on Ihe treasury, unless he is authorized 
to do so by a vote of the board, at a regular or special meeting. It is 
the duty of the board to examine all contracts for the employ- 
ment of teachers, and the construction of school -houses, or for any 
other purpose, and to see that the stipulations have been com. 
plied with, before they authorize the payment of money thereon. 

(&) The board may authorize the president and secretary to 
draw warrants for the payment of teachers' salaries at the end of 
each school month, upon proper evidence that the service has 
been performed, but the order for wages for the last month 
should not be drawn until the report required by section 1760, is 
filed in the office of the secretary. 

(c) School orders issued without a vote of the board of direct- 
ors, or otherwise illegally issued, although they may be signed 
by the president and countersigned by the secretary, are not 
binding upon the district ; neither can they acquire validity by 
being transferred to third parties. If illegal when issued, they 
are illegal forever. 19 Iowa, 199 and 248. 

(d) Only the secretary and treasurer can receive compensation 
for the discharge of duties required by law. Section 1738. 

Sec 1734. (a) Boards of directors have entire control of the 
public schools of their district and the teachers employed therein. 
The board may establish such rales and regulations for the govern- 
ment of teachers and pupils, not inconsistent with law, as the 
interests of the schools require. The teacher is the agent of the 
board, and the rules made and enforced by the teacher with 
either the formal or tacit consent of the board, are in effect the 
rules of the board. It is the duty of the teacher, under the di- 
rection of the board, to determine what branches shall be pursued 
by each pupil. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 91 

(b) Without special mention in the teacher's contract, it is 
understood that only the common branches are expected to be 
taught. 

(c) It is competent for boards of directors to provide by rules 
that pupils may be suspended from the schools in case they shall 
be absent or tardy a certain number of times within a fixed 
period, except for sickness, or other unavoidable cause. 

If the effects of acts done out of school-houses reach within 
the school room during school hours, and are detrimental to 
good order and the best interests of the pupils, it is evident that 
such acts may be forbidden. Burdick & Chandler v. Babcock, 
et al., 31 Iowa, 562. 

(d) Boards of directors can dismiss teachers only for good 
cause shown. In case the board pass an order to dismiss, the 
material reason therefor should be spread upon the record ; for, 
while in case of contest, these reasons would not be conclusive 
against the teacher, the board would be estopped from presenting 
other reasons than those named in the record. Neville v. School 
Directors, 36 111., 71. When a teacher is unjustly dismissed, an 
appeal may be taken from the action of the board in dismissing 
him, but a suit at law must be brought, if he seeks to recover his 
pay upon the contract. Th3 teacher can be paid only to the date 
of legal dismissal. 

(e) In the trial of a teacher, when it is sought to dismiss him, 
all the provisions of section 1734 must be strictly complied with. 
The board may not prevent the teacher from making a full de- 
fense, and the teacher may appear by attorney, or otherwise, as 
he chooses. 

Sec 1736. It is very important that the secretary should file 
the certificate with the county officers named, immediately after 
the regular meetings of the board in March and September; 
otherwise the funds belonging to the district may be paid to per- 
sons not authorized to receive them. Whenever a change is 
made, the county officers should be notified. 

Sec. 1737. These rules should be carefully prepared, and 
adopted by the board and recorded, and each subdirector should 
be furnished with a copy. These rules and regulations may 
properly provide all restrictions not in conflict with law, which 
the board see fit to adopt for the guidance of subdirectors. They 
may provide that a subdirector may not teach his own school; 



92 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

that no contracts shall be made by him which do not expire 
with the school year; and that he may not engage a near relative 
as teacher unless he has obtained the previous consent of a 
majority of the board; nor employ any teacher to whom a 
majority of the electors or patrons object in writing. 

Sec 1738. (a) As to the proper course to pursue when the 
board is reduced below a quorum, see note (/) to section 1730. 

{b) A change of district boundaries is illegal and void, unless 
made by a majority of the whole board. 

(c) Any compensation paid to any other member of the board 
than the secretary and treasurer, for the performance of official 
duties is in direct opposition to the law, and an open violation of 
the oath of office. For locating sites, or receiving buildings on 
the completion of contracts, they clearly cannot receive pay. 

Sec. 1739. (a) The president of the board should take the 
oath of office according to article 11, section 5, of the Constitu- 
tion of Iowa. 

(b) The president has the right to vote on all questions com- 
ing before the board. If by such vote a tie is produced, the 
motion is lost. Sections 1721 and 1802, notes. 

(c) The president can draw no order on the district treas- 
ury except by authority of the board of directors. Section 
1733 and notes, also section 1741, notes (e) and (/). 

(d) The president should not act as secretary or treasurer of 
the board. In the absence of the president, or when he refuses 
to discharge the proper duties of his office, a temporary president 
may be appointed, who, during the time he is acting as president, 
may sign orders and contracts, and do all other acts proper to 
be done by the president, but is not authorized to act, except 
when the board is in session. 

(e) The failure of an officer to attach his official title to his 
signature, will not effect the instrument so far as the district is 
concerned ; provided, the writing was authorized, and made for 
the district, and this fact can be shown. 

(/) An order of the board cannot be considered as officially 
transmitted, unless signed by the president, as well as by the 
secretary. 

Sec 1740. (a) The expenses in suits provided for by this sec- 
tion should be paid from the contingent fund. 

(b) " Appeals to the county superintendent or superintendent 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 93 

of public instruction, are not suits brought by or against the dis- 
trict township, and they are not suits brought by or against any 
of the school officers, within the meaning of the law, and no charge 
can be made against the district township for attorney's fees. 
Templin & Son v. District Township of Fremont, 36 Iowa, 411. 

SECRETARY. 

Sec 1741. (a) It is essential that the record of the proceed- 
ings of the board and district meetings should be properly kept. 
Every transaction should be carefully noted, and the proceedings 
should be read and approved. The registry of orders is also an 
important matter. Every order drawn should be promptly 
reported to the district treasurer, as he has no other means of de- 
termining the amount of outstanding orders, otherwise he cannot 
comply with the law requiring him to make partial payments. 
Sec. 1748. 

(b) The secretary is the custodian of the order-book. He makes 
the orders which the president afterward signs. 

(c) Public records are public property, and they are open to 
inspection at any time by any citizen. No public officer can refuse 
examination of the records; but he is their custodian, and being 
charged with their safe keeping, he must keep them in his posses- 
sion. 

(d) The failure of the secretary to record all the proceedings 
of the board and of district meetings in separate books, kept for 
that purpose, will not render the proceedings void. Higgins v. 
Reed, et a!., 8 Iowa, 298. 

(e) The secretary, president and treasurer must conform to the 
instructions of the board so far as those instructions are in accord- 
ance with law, but they should not obey the board when directed 
to do an illegal act. 

(/) If the board appropriate money to pay their members, 
other than the secretary and treasurer, or for any other illegal 
purpose, the president and secretary should refuse to sign the 
order, and, if drawn, the treasurer should refuse to pay it. 

(g) The secretary should not act as president or treasurer. 

Sec 1742. See sections 1718 and 1719 and notes. 

Sec 1743. The secretary is also required to keep an account cur- 
rent with the district treasurer, as provided by section 1782. 



94 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

Sec. 1744. This will aid the county superintendent in plan, 
ning his work of visitation, provided for in section 1774. The 
name of the teacher should also be given. 

Sec. 1745. (a) The blanks for the annual report of the secre- 
tary are furnished by the state, through county superintendents. 
The secretary should record the report, required by this section, 
in the district records. If a copy of the report is simply filed in 
his office, it is liable to be destroyed or mislaid, which may prove 
detrimental to the interests of the district. 

(b) In districts formed of parts of two or more counties, the 
secretary should make the annual report to the superintendent of 
the county in which a majority of the children reside. This re- 
port should not embrace those children who reside in portions of 
the district lying in other counties. The remaining number of 
children should be reported by the secretary to the superintend- 
ents of their respective counties. 

(c) In independent districts, it is the duty of the secretary of 
the board to take the annual school enumeration required by the 
first clause of this section, unless the board assign the duty to 
another person; in such case proper compensation should be given 
for the work required. 

Sec. 1746. In case the subdirectors fail to make their annua} 
reports, as required by section 1755; the secretary should colle< it 1 lie 
statistics necessary for a complete report. The board of direct- 
ors should give the secretary a suitable compensation for his labor. 
Sec. 1733. 

TREASURER. 

Sec 1747. (a) The language of this section is very explicit. 
It makes the treasurer the custodian of all moneys belonging to 
the district, which effectually precludes the idea of dividing the 
money belonging to any particular fund among the subdistricts. 
He can pay it out only on the order of the president, countersigned 
by the secretary, and the president can draw no order unless he is 
authorized to do so by the board of directors. Section 1733, and 
notes to same; also section 1741, notes(e') and (/). 

(b) Neither the electors nor the board of directors can author- 
ize the treasurer to loan money belonging to the district. 

(c) "If any state, county, township, school or municipal offi- 
cer, or officer of any state institution, or other public officer 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 95 

within the state, charged with the collection, safe-keeping, trans- 
fer, or disbursement of public money, fails or refuses to keep in 
any place of deposit that may be provided by law for keeping 
such money, until the same is withdrawn therefrom upon war- 
rants issued by the proper officer, or deposits such money in any 
other place than in such safe, or unlawfully converts to his own 
use in any way whatever, or use by way of investment in any 
kind of property, or loan without the authority of law any por- 
tion of the public money entrusted to him for collection, safe- 
keeping, transfer, or disbursement, or converts to Lis own use 
any money that may come into his hands by virtue of his office, 
shall be guilty of embezzlement to the amount of so much of said 
money as is thus taken, converted, invested, used, loaned, or un- 
accounted for, and upon conviction thereof he shall be imprisoned 
in the penitentiary not exceeding five years, and fined in a sum 
equal to the amount of money embezzled, and, moreover, is for- 
ever after disqualified from holding any office unorer the laws or 
constitution of this state." Code, section 3908. 

Sec. 1748 («) Minor improvements, such as the erection of 
ordinary outhouses, fences, etc., may be paid from either the 
contingent fund or school-house fund. Ordinary repairs should 
be charged to the contingent fund; but when such repairs assume 
the magnitude of a re-building, or of an extensive addition, they 
should be charged to the school-house fund. 

(b) The original cost of seating school-houses should be paid 
from the school-house fund. The law does not authorize the 
use of the contingent fund for the erection or completion of 
school-houses, but when a house needs re-seating or other repairs, 
the cost may be defrayed either from the contingent fund, or from 
any unappropriated school-house fund in the treasury. 

(c) Since the board of directors receive no pay for their serv- 
ices if they subscribe for any journal containing the official 
rulings and decisions of this department to aid them in their 
work we think they have a right to pay for the same from the 
contingent fund. 

(d) Boards of directors have no authority to transfer money 
from one fund to another, even temporarily, unless they are 
authorized under section 1717| to transfer from the school-house 
fund to either of the other funds. 

(e) The teachers' fund should not be divided among the sub- 



96 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

districts, neither equally nor according to the number of children 
nor upon any other basis. This fund can be paid out only to 
teachers for services performed, upon orders authorized by the 
board of directors. The board should limit the compensation to 
be paid teachers, according to the circumstances and wants of 
each subdistrict. 

Sec. 1749. See section 1784. 

Sec. 1750. The register provided for in this section is indispen- 
sable to the treasurer, under the law requiring him to make par- 
tial payments on orders, when he has not funds sufficient to pay 
them in full; section 1748. It is essential that he should know 
the exact amount of outstanding orders, and for this reason the sec- 
retary is required to report to him all orders drawn on the dis- 
trict treasury. Section 1741, and note (a), 

Sec 1751. (a) The blanks for the annual report of the treas- 
urer are furnished by the state, through county superintendents. 
The reports should be made according to form supplied. 

(b) The treasurer is responsible for all moneys coming into his 
hands by virtue of his office, even if stolen or destroyed by fire. 
The board have no authority to release him, unless he accounts in 
full for all moneys received by virtue of his office. District 
Township of Taylor v. Morton, 37 Iowa, 550; District Township 
of Union v. Smith, 39 Iowa, 9. 

(c) " Sec 690. When the incumbent of an office is re-elected 
he shall qualify as above directed ; but when the re-elected officer 
has had public funds or property in his control, under color of his 
office, his bond shall not be approved until he has produced and 
fully accounted for such funds and property to the proper person 
to whom he should account therefor ; and the officer or board ap- 
proving the bond shall indorse upon the bond, before its approval, 
the fact that the said officer has fully accounted for and produced 
all funds and property before that time under his control as such 
officer; and when it is ascertained that the incumbent holds over 
another term by reason of the non-election of a successor, or for 
the neglect or refusal of the successor to qualify he shall qualify 
anew within a time to be fixed by the officer who approves of the 
bonds of such officers." 

subdirector. 
Sec 1752. (a) In case a subdirector elect fails to qualify, the 
vacancy thus created is filled by his predecessor, who holds 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 97 

over another year, and should renew his oath of office. As soon 
as it i- ascertained that lie holds over, he may be required to 
qualify within a time to be prescribed by the board. See section 
690. Code, also note (n) to section 1730. 

(b) Any school director or director elect is authorized to admin- 
ister to any school director elect the official oath required by law, 
but the secretary can not administer this oath unless he is a mem- 
ber of the board, a magistrate, or notary public. 

(c) If a person is elected as his own successor and fails to qual- 
ify by the third Monday in March, a vacancy exi ts which should 
be filled by appointment. 

Sec. 1753 (a) The subdirector is clothed with certain general 
powers by this section, but these are to be exercised under the direc- 
tion of the board. The board may restrict him, for example, as 
to when he shall employ teachers, for how long a time, at what 
compensation, and even whom he shall employ; the extent of 
repairs, and prices paid for same; and the amount and cost of fuel. 
Thompson v. Linn, 35 Iowa, 361. See note to section 1737, and 
preface to these laws. 

(b) " When a te cher or other person is about to enter into a 
contract with a subdirector he knows that he is dealing with a 
public agent whose powers are subject to regulations and restric- 
tion by the board; he is bound to know what these rules and 
restrictions are, and should be governed accordingly." lb. 

(c) The district township is bound by the contract of a sub- 
director, when made according to instructions by the board. 35 
Iowa, 361. 

(d) The president can be compelled by mandamus to give his 
approval of a contract made in accordance with a vote of the 
board. 

(p) The board may pass a resolution that teachers shall receive 
their pay monthly, upon the certificate of the subdirector or of a 
committee of the board. tha ! the required time has been taught. 

(/) The board should regulate the compensation of teachers 
in the several subdistricts, authorizing the payment of such wages 
in e sch as will enable the subdirectors to secure teachers qualified 
to toach and govern their respective schools. 

(y) Each subdirector ha-; exclusive control of the school-house 
in his subdistrict, unless the district township meeting has other- 
wise ordered. 



98 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

(h) Special powers delegated to the subdirector by the law, as, 
for instance, the control of the school-house in his own subdistrict 
(section 1753), and the right to determine whether scholars may 
attend from or in an adjoining subdistrict (section 1795,) can not 
be assumed by the board. 

(i) It is proper to permit the use of school-houses for the pur- 
pose of public worship on Sunday, or for religious services, pub- 
lic lectures on moral or scientific subjects, or meetings on ques- 
tions of public interest, on the evenings of the week, or at any 
time when such use will not interfere with the regular progress of 
the school. Townsend v. Hagan, etal., 35 Iowa, 194. 

(/) The subdirector in district townships, or the board in inde- 
pendent districts, should require from parties desiring the use of 
the school-house, security for its proper use, and its protection 
from other injury than natural wear. 

(k) The use of a public school building for Sabbath-schools, 
religious meetings, debating clubs, temperance meetings, and the 
like is proper. Especially is this so, where abundant provision is 
made for securing damages which the tax-payer may suffer by 
reason of the use of the house for the purposes named. The 
use of a school-house for such purpose, when so authorized, is not 
prohibited by section 3, article 1, of the constitution. See 50 
Iowa, 11. 

(I) If any person willfully write, make marks, or draw charac- 
ters on the walls or any other part of any church, college, academy, 
school-house, court-house or other public building; or will- 
fully injure, or deface the same, or any wall or fence inclosing 
the same, he shall be punished by fine not exceeding one hundred 
dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not more than 
thirty days." Section 3986, Code. 

Sec, 1755. The failure of subdirectors to make their reports, 
as required by this section, will reduce the semi-annual apportion- 
ments for the year, since they are made upon the enumeration 
of persons of school age. 

Sec. 1756. (a) The law does not provide that the board of 
directors are compelled to give scholar or parents notice or chance 
for defense before ordering the suspension or expulsion of the 
scholar. The board have large discretionary powers. This 
is one of the matters which come wholly within their dis- 
cretion. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 99 

(b) A careful investigation of the charges against the scholar 
should be made before he is dismissed. 

(c) The action of the subdirector and president in dismissing a 
scholar remains in force for the term only. 

(d) The teacher has control over scholars during school 
hours, within reasonable limits, unless restricted by a rule of the 
board. He may require a scholar to remain in his seat during 
recess, as a punishment. However, it is not wise to deprive 
children, to any great extent, of the exercise necessary to their 
physical well-being. 

TEACHERS. 

Sec 1757. (a) All contracts made by the subdirector, under 
the provisions of section 1753, must be approved by the president 
and reported to the board of directors. The teacher's certificate 
should be produced before the contract is signed. 

(b) All matters agreed upon should be incorporated into the 
written contract. The tendency of our courts is to presume that 
the written contract embraces the entire agreement of the parties. 

(c) Section 2976, Code of 1873, provides that " a municipal or 
political corporation shall not be garnished." However, the cor- 
poration may waive exemption from this process. See Iowa Re- 
ports, 25, 315. 

(d) If a teacher is at the school-house at the proper time, and 
remains during school hours, he is entitled to pay therefor, accord- 
ing to his contract, whether scholars are present or not. 

((■) Without special mention in the teachers contract, it is , 
understood that only the common branches are expected to be 
taught. 

(/) The board, for what seem to them good reasons, may order 
a short vacation. But they can not shorten the term included in 
the contract, without consent of both parties. 

(g) It is lawful for a board to give teachers holidays and not 
deduct pay, and it is quite usual. The teacher, however, can not 
claim it as a right. 

(h) " It is the duty of the subdirector to file the teacher's con- 
tract with the president of the board, and secure his approval ; the 
teacher being permitted to enter upon the performance of the 
contract, has a right to presume the contract was duly approved, 
and the absence of such approval can not deprive the teacher of 



100 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

the right to recover the stipulated compensation for the service 
by him rendered." Hattie Conner v. District Township of Lud- 
low, 35 Iowa, 375. 

(i) A contract made by a subdirector who is president, should 
be submitted to the board for approval, if a subdirector is em- 
ployed to teach the school in his own subdistrict, he should con- 
tract with the board, or with a committee appointed for that pur- 
pose, by the board. 

(j) The approval of the teacher's contract by the president is 
a mandatory act, which he can not refuse to perform, unless the 
contract is drawn at variance with instructions from the board, or 
otherwise violates law. 

(k) The board may authorize the president and secretary to 
draw orders for the payment of teachers salaries at the end of 
each school month, upon proper evidence that the service has been 
performed. See note (e) to section 1753. 

Sec. 1758. (a) The only legal certificates, besides those given 
by county superintendents, are the perpetual State certificates, 
issued by the educational board of examiners, prior to September, 
1873, when said board was abolished. The superintendent of 
public instruction is not authorized to issue teachers' certifi- 
cates. 

(b) The teacher must have a certificate during the whole term 
of school, he is not authorized to teach a single day beyond the 
period named in his certificate. In case of the temporary absence 
of a teacher, from sickness or other cause, the place should be 
supplied with some person duly authorized to teach, selected by 
the subdirector. 

(c) In case a person is employed or continued as a teacher in 
violation of law without a certificate, a resident of the district 
may sue out a writ of injunction, restraining the person from 
teaching and the district from paying. Such a writ can not be 
served at the instance of the county superintendent. Perkins v. 
Wolf et al., 17 Iowa, 228. Boards of directors employing and 
paying such tenchers are liable to prosecution under the provis- 
ions of the general statutes for misapplication of funds. See 
sections 3965, 396G and 3967, Code. 

Sec 1759. (a) The teacher may be held responsible for the 
efficient discharge of every duty properly attaching to his office, 
including the exercise of due diligence in the oversight and pres- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 101 

ervation of school buildings, grounds, furniture, apparatus, and 
other school property, as well as the more prominent work of 
instruction and government. M iking fires and sweeping the 
school-room are not, properly, a part of the teacher's duties. In 
rural districts, teachers frequently perforin this labor, as a matter 
of convenience and economy; those who are unwilling to perform 
this work, or who expect to receive pay for it, should so stipulate 
with the subdirector before entering into the contract to teach. 

(b) The party doing damage to school property is responsible 
for the same. The teacher is bound to exercise reasonable oare to 
protect and preserve school property, and failing to do so may be 
held liable for damages sustained. 

Sec. 1760. The secretary of the district should refuse to sign 
an order for the last month of the teacher's wages until the regis- 
ter is filed in his office as required by this section; without this 
register, he cannot make the report required by section 1745. 

GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

Sec. 1761. (a) There are no holidays during which teachers 
are exempt from teaching, unless excused by the board of direct- 
ors. A legal contract requires twenty days of actual service of 
a month. 

(b) There is no provision of law giving teachers time to visit 
other schools. Boards of directors may, however, grant holidays 
for that purpose. 

Sec. 1762. The provisions of this section are not applicable to> 
the normal institutes, held in compliance with the provisions of 
section 1769. 

Sec 1763. A teacher who teaches any of the languages refer- 
red to in this section in addition to other work as teacher, must 
have the certificate required by this section, additional to the one 
demanded by the first part of section 1766; but a teacher who 
teaches only one or more of the languages referred to above, or any 
other special branch named, may be required to have a certificate 
for such branch as provided by the last part of section 1766, and 
need not have the other certificate, unless desired. 

Sec 1764. (a) While moral instruction should be given iu 
every school, neither this section nor the spirit of our constitution 
and laws, wiil permit a teacher or board of directors to enforce a. 
regulation in regard to religious exercises, which will wound the 



102 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

conscience of any ; and no scholar can be required to conform to 
any particular mode of worship. Our common schools are main- 
tained at public expense, and the law contemplates that they shall 
be equally free to persons of every faith. A very suitable devo- 
tional exercise consists in reading a portion of Scripture without 
note or comment, and the repetition of the Lord's Prayer. 

(b) The diversion of the school fund in any form or to any ex- 
tent for the support of sectarian or private schools is inadmissible 
and clearly in violation of our laws. 

" Public money shall not be appropriated, given or loaned by 
the corporate authorities, supervisors or trustees of any county, 
township, city or town, or municipal organization of this state, to, 
or in favor of, any institution, school, association, or object, which 
is under ecclesiastical or sectarian management or control." Sec- 
tion 552, Code. 

COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT. 

Sec 1766. (a) The examination of teachers is a most impor- 
tant and difficult labor. Examinations should be thorough and 
systematic, and made with a view of obtaining the actual meas- 
ure of the proficiency of the applicant in each branch. Written 
examinations afford the best test of scholarship, if the questions 
are carefully prepared and frequently renewed. 

(b) While the superintendent is not specifically prohibited 
from examining teachers on other days than the last Saturday 
in each month, he should generally confine himself to these days, 
and to such additional time as the amount of labor seems to re- 
quire. He may, with advantage, make appointments to hold 
examinations in different localities, for the convenience of 
teachers, previous to the commencement of the winter and sum- 
mer schools. Such examinations, with those held at the county 
seat on the last Saturday of the month, ought, ordinarily, to 
give sufficient opportunity to all persons desiring to be examined. 
Applications made at other times should be rejected, unless good 
reasons are given for not attending the regular examinations; 
the interests of the schools do not require frequent or individual 
examinations, and the time of the superintendent can be more 
profitably employed in the performance of other duties. 

Sec. 1767. (a) County superintendents should remember that 
they are to inquire, not only into the literary qualifications of 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 103 

the applicant, but they must also be satisfied that the applicant 
possesses a good moral character, and the essential qualifications 
for governing and instructing children and youth. Scholarship, 
moral character, ability to govern, aptness to teach — the law re- 
quires all four of these qualifications in those to whom are 
intrusted the highest interests of the state — the education of its 
youth. 

(b) Certificates should not be renewed nor should county 
superintendents indorse certificates given by other superintendents. 
Each county superintendent should satisfy himself of the scholas- 
tic attainments of his teachers; after he has done this, his visits 
should always determine, in part at least, the grade of certificate 
to be granted. Every applicant for an examination, and of 
course, every person receiving a certificate, should pay a dollar 
toward the institute fund. 

(c) The law fixes only the maximum time for which a certifi- 
cate may be given. The minium is left to the discretion of the 
county superintendent. 

(d) It is clearly the intention of the law, that every person 
who applies for an examination shall pay one dollar. This is to 
be repeated every time the applicant presents himself for a new 
examination. 

(e) Section 1769 of the Code of 1873, was repealed by chapter 
57, of the fifteenth general assembly. Hence, the authority to 
collect a fee of one dollar as compensation for a private examina- 
tion, has been abolished. 

Sec. 1768. The record required by this section, should be care- 
fully made, as the items form a part of the county superin- 
tendent's annual report to the superintendent of public instruc- 
tion. 

Sec 1769. (a) The normal institute takes the place of the 
teachers' institute held under previous laws. It must be held 
at a time when the public schools are generally closed. Prepara- 
tions for the institute should be commenced early, by securing the 
requisite instructors, rooms, fixing the time, etc. 

(b) The superintendent of public instruction is authorized, 
upon receipt of the proper certificate from the county superin- 
tendent, to appoint the time and place of holding the normal 
institute and to transmit to him a warrant on the state treasury 
for fifty dollars, toward defraying its expenses. Section 1584, 



104 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

Code. County superintendents will determine the time and place, 
and make application to the superintendent of public instruction 
for holding an institute, at least thirty days before the institute 
is to commence. This application and the appointment are nec- 
essary to secure t he state appropriation. 

(c) The length of time dining which the normal institute shall 
remain in session is left to the discretion of the county superin- 
tendent. This will depend largely upon the amount of the insti- 
tute fund. It cannot remain in session less than one week of six 
days, section 1584, Code. A session of from three to six weeks may 
be safely undertaken in most counties. 

(d) Attendance upon the normal institute will be voluntary on 
the part of teachers; but young and inexperienced teachers 
will not expect to receive certificates, unless of the lowest grade, 
without regularly attending the normal institute. By means of 
the larger fund and the greater length of time during which this 
institute will remain in session, it can, if the proper means are em- 
ployed, be rendered invaluable to teachers. The benefits which 
they will receive, will secure their voluntary and general attend- 
ance. Any schools that may be in session during the normal 
institute, will not be closed, except upon the order of the board 
of directors thereof. 

(e) The law requires the county superintendent, with the con- 
currence of the superintendent of pubtic instruction, to procure 
such assistance as may be necessary to conduct the institute. It 
is expected that superintendents will select conductors and teach- 
ers, as far as practicable, and forward the names for examination 
and approval. Ordinarily, three or four instructors should be se- 
cured, all of whom should be superior teachers of recent experi- 
ence; one of whom, at least, should have had experience in institute 
work, and be able to give plain, practical instruction, in methods 
of school organization, government and teaching. One or more 
lady teachers thould be secured, where it is practicable. The best 
results are usually secured by dividing the institute into two or 
more divisions for instruction in the several branches, leaving a 
portion of the time for general instruction before the whole insti- 
tute. Poor conductors and instructors have been employed and 
the teachers of some counties have reason to complain. County 
superintendents should have sufncent evidence of the abilities of 
their instructors, before employing them. In all cases when 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 105 

strangers are employed, references should be required, ;)nd inqui- 
ries made in this office will frequently secure the proper knowl- 
edge. 

(/) The superintendent may assume the general management 
of the institute, and act as conductor, assigning others their work, 
or may select another.to act as conductor and take the place of 
teacher, or may simply assume the general oversight and direc- 
tion, rie is entitled to his per diem for any service in connection 
with the institute, as for other official duties, but receives no part 
of the institute fund. 

( ) These normal institutes are short training schools; their 
object is to reach and correct the greatest delects found in the 
schools. The superintendent in visiting schools should seek to 
discover the most prominent defects mid wants in the methods of 
instruction. The normal institute will afford effective means of 
reaching and correcting these faults. The great .object is to in- 
struct teachers how to teach children. 

(h) The reports and payments to the county treasurer, required 
by this section, should be made on the first day of each month. 

(i) It is the duty of the board of supervisors, at the close of 
his terra of office, to settle with the county superintendent, as 
with other coutity officers, acco; ding to the provisions of the law. 

Sec 1771. (a) Though an appeal will lie in such cases, the 
discretion of a county superintendent in refusing or revoking a 
teacher's certificate will not be interfered with by the superintend- 
ent of public instruction, unless it is clearly shown that in such 
act, the county superintendent violated law or abused his discre- 
tion. Dougherty v. Tracy, School Law Decisions, 34. 

(b) The notice provided for in this section, should contain an 
explicit, statement of the charges against which the teacher is 
expected to make his defense. 

Sec 1772. (a) The blanks for the annual report of the county 
superintendent are furnished by the superintendent of public 
instruction. 

(b) The superintendent may test the accuracy of the treasurer's 
reports by consulting the books of the county treasurer. The 
amount of the several funds reported as received from the district 
tax, also the amount received from the sem -annual apportion- 
ment, should agree with the county treasurer's receipts for the 
same. All errors should be corrected. The amounts reported on 



106 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

hand in the last report should always be reported as the amounts 
on hand at last report the following year. 

(c) The abstract of t the enumeration of children in each dis- 
trict should be made with especial care, and should be complete 
and accurate, otherwise the county may not obtain its just pro- 
portion of the income of the permanent school fund. 

(<1) Should the district secretaries or treasurers fail to make 
their reports in time, the superintendent should take prompt 
measures to secure them, going after them if necessary. 

(e) When district townships are divided, or independent dis- 
tricts organized, the superintendent should immediately file with 
the county auditor a statement, based upon the last report of the 
secretaries, showing the number of persons of school age in each 
of the districts whose boundaries have been thus changed. 

Sec. 1774. (a) The superintendent in his visits should seek to 
aid, instruct, and inspire teachers to the employment of the best 
methods of teaching, governing, and conducting their schools; 
should try to secure the proper classification of scholars, the ar- 
rangement of courses of study, and the care and protection of the 
school property. He should study to awaken among parents and 
children, a deeper interest in the public schools so as to secure 
improved attendance, deportment and scholarship of scholars, 
and more frequent visits of parents and school officers. A judi- 
cious visit from the superintendent may often serve to infuse new 
life into the school. 

(b) The county superintendent should carefully observe the 
condition of the school-house and surroundings, note all defects, 
and notify the subdiveetor or board of directors of the same. 

Sec. 1775. The blanks for these reports are furnished by the 
superintendent of the respective institutions. 

Sec 1776. (a) The board of supervisors shall furnish the 
county superintendent with an office at the county seat, togethei 
with fuel, lights, blanks, books, and stationery necessary ant) 
proper to enable him to discharge the duties of his office, but in no 
rase shall such officer be permitted to occupy an office also occu- 
pied by a practicing attorney. See section 3844, Code. 

taxes. 

Sec. 1777. (a) This section requires boards of directors to 
certify the specific sums necessary to be raised for teachers' and 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 10T 

contingent fund to the board of supervisors, whose duty it is to> 
estimate and levy the per centum necessary to raise the amounts, 
so certified. 

(b) It is wholly within the discretion of the board of directors- 
to determine the amounts required for the contingent and 
teachers' funds. Any vote of the electors touching these 
amounts, is only suggestive, and is not at all binding All 
school-house funds must be voted by the electors. See sections 
1717 and 1807. 

(c) Section 1780 limits the amount which may be levied in a 
district township for any one year, to fifteen dollars per scholar 
for teachers' fund and five dollars per scholar for contingent 
fund, but authorizes the levy of seventy-five dollars for contin- 
gent, and two hundred and seventy dollars for teachers' fund 
for each subdistrict, even if the levy thereby exceeds five and 
fifteen dollars per scholar, for these funds. 

(d) If the amount of school-house tax voted and certified by 
the board of directors in any year exceeds the limit which the 
board of supervisors are allowed to levy, under the provisions of 
section 1780, it is the duty of the board of directors to certify 
the amount of the deficiency from year to year until the whole 
amount is levied. 

(e) The teachers' and contingent funds are not to be appor- 
tioned among the subdistricts, but levied uniformly on the taxa- 
ble property of the district township. 

(/) Chapter 67, laws of 1874, authorizes districts formed from 
territory lying in adjoining counties, to vote and certify to the re- 
spective boards of supervisors the number of mills on the dollar 
required to raise the necessary school taxes. 

Sec 1778. (a) All school-house taxes must be voted either 
by the district or by the subdistrict electors. When voted they 
must in all cases be certified to the board of supervisors. All 
taxes voted by the district township meeting must be apportioned 
among the subdistricts of the township. The basis of this ap_ 
portionment is the aggregate number of mills previously levied 
upon the subdistricts of the township for school-house purposes. 
The apportionment should be made so as gradually to equalize 
these rates, in order that the school-house tax may, ultimately,, 
be uniform throughout the district. 

(b) The township electors may vote a tax for the erection of 



108 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

a school-house in any subdistrict, without previous action of the 
subdistrict electors. If the subdistrict electors vote to raise a 
sum for school-house purposes, it is the duty of the subdiiector to 
certify the same to the district township meeting. If this duty is 
neglected the board of directors are not authorized to certify the 
tax voted. Whatever portion of the sum properly certified the 
district meeting neglects or refuses to grant, must, be certified 
and levied directly upon the subdistrict making the request, in 
addition to the equitable portion of the whole amount voted by 
the district township meeting. If the meeting refuses to vote 
any amount the whole must be certified and levied upon the 
subdistrict. 

(c) The tendency of the action of the subdistrict electors in 
voting school-house taxes, is to produce unequal rates of taxa- 
tion for school- house purposes, and otherwise greatly to com- 
plicate the raising of school-house funds; hence, unless the 
necessities of the case absolutely require, such action should not 
be encouraged. All necessary school-house taxes should, as a 
rule, be voted by the district township meeting. See note (c) 
to Form 3. 

Sec 1779. Personal property should be taxed in the district 
where the person resides, the general rule being that persona 1 
property attaches itself to the residence of the owner. See sections 
803-6 and 823-4, Code of 1873. 

Sec 1780. The second proviso in this section was added for 
the relief of sparsely settled townships, in which five dollars per 
scholar for contingent fund, and fifteen dollars per scholar for 
teachers' fund, is not adequate to maintain schools for the time 
required by law. In such districts these limits may be exceeded, 
providing not more than $75 for contingent fund, and $270 
including the semi-annual apportionment, for teachers' fund, is 
levied for each subdistrict in the township. 

COUNTY AUDITOR. 

Sec 1.781. For the basis of the apportionment to new districts, 
see note (e) to section 1772. 

Sec 1783. It is important that the certificate referred to 
should be promptly forwarded to the superintendent of public in- 
struction; otherwise, the interests of the county may suffer by the 
transaction of business with persons not duly authorized to act. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 109 

The certificate should in all cases certify to the qualification as 
well as the election or appointment of the county superintendent; 
for, although he may be properly elected or appointed yet he 
cannot be recognized until it is known that he has taken the 
necessary oath of office and filed the required bond. Whenever 
any change is made by resignation or otherwise, a certificate of 
the appointment and qualification of a successor should be im- 
mediately forwarded. 

COUNTY TREASURER. 

Sec. 1785. The three funds provided for by law, viz. : school- 
house, teachers', and contingent, must be kept separate by the 
county treasurer, as provided for in this section, to enable school 
officers to comply with the law in the discharge of their official 
duties. See sections 1739, 1741, 1745, 1748 and 1750. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Sec 1789. (a) The object of this section is to prevent a few 
designing persons from meeting at an unusual hour, dispatch- 
ing the business with unseemly haste, and adjourning before many 
of the electors arrive. The meeting should be conducted with 
entire fairness, and an opportunity given for an expression of 
the real sentiment of the district. 

(b) In district townships, subdistricts, and in independent 
districts containing less than three hundred inhabitants, the 
meeting may be organized at any time after 9 o'clock a. m.. 
and before 6 o'clock p. m., and may continue as long after 
12 m. as circumstances may require. 

(c) The law contemplates at least three hours for the election, 
in any case. Iowa Reports, 37, 131; 39, 381. 

Sec 1790. (n) When any election is contested the person 
elected shall have twenty days in which to qualify, after the 
date of the decision. See section 687, Code. 

(b) The secretary of the board of directors, unless he is a 
notary public or other civil officer qualified to administer oaths, 
cannot administer the oath to subdirectors. A subdirector, 
whether holding over or elected, can administer the oath of 
qualification. 

(c) The decision of a tie vote, as made by chapter 7, laws of 
the eighteenth general assembly, may make it impossible for 



110 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

the person chosen to qualify on the third Monday in March. In 
such case, the board should fix a reasonable time within which 
the person must qualify. The provisions of section 687, Code, 
may perhaps apply. See note (a) above. 

Sec 1791. See sections 3908, 3917, 3918, and 3929, Code. 

The language of this section includes copies of the school 
laws, school journals, reports, and all other publications which 
may be received by virtue of being a school officer. 

Sec. 1793. (a) If scholars reside more than one and one-half 
miles from a school in their own district and nearer to a school 
in an adjoining district, which they desire to attend, application 
should first be made to both boards of directors ; if the boards 
refuse to enter inte an agreement, they may attend school in 
such adjoining district with the consent of the board of the dis- 
trict where they desire to attend and of the county superin- 
tendent of the county in which the children reside. 

(b) The notice referred to in this section cannot be said to be 
officially transmitted unless signed by both the president and 
secretary of the district. Payment for attendance can be col- 
lected from the district where they reside, only from the date of 
such notice. 

(c) Depositing a letter in a post-office without further proof 
that such letter reached the party addressed, is not a legal notice 
as required by section 1793 to secure the payment of tuition on 
the part of an adjoining district. 

(d) The average proportion of tuition and contingent ex- 
penses for any number of scholars is found by dividing the 
amount expended for these purposes in the subdistrict where they 
have attended, by the total attendence in days, and multiplying 
the quotient by the number of days said scholars have attended. 
When scholars attend a graded school, the average tuition 
should be computed on the basis of the expense of each pupil in 
the grade oi room in which such scholars are placed; the average 
expense of contingent fund may be computed as a part of the 
whole contingent expense of such school. 

(e) If scholars reside nearer to a school in their own district, 
or within one and one-half miles of one, they can attend school 
in an adjoining district at the expense of their own district, only 
by agreement of both boards. 

(/) Any other action than compliance with the absolute and 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. Ill 

explicit terms of the law will render the collection of tuition 
impossible. 

(g) In no case can scholars attend school in a district in 
which they do not reside, without the consent of the board 
thereof. The distance should, in all cases, be computed by the 
nearest public road. 

Sec. 1T94. (a) The residence of the scholar, and not of the 
parent, determines his right to attend school. The parent may 
reside in one district and the child in another. If the parent 
sends him into another district to remain for a limited period he 
can attend school only on such terms as may be prescribed by 
the board of directors. 

(b) When there is a question of doubt whether parties are en- 
titled by their residence to school privileges, since the fact of 
residence depends upon the intention of the parties themselves, 
their affidavits are the best guide to determine the matter. 

Sec 1795. (a) In order that scholars may attend in an 
adjoining subdistrict in their own district township, it is 
necessary to have the consent of both subdirectors. Since this 
matter is placed in the hands of the subdirectors, the board have 
no control, and the only remedy is such a redisricting, under 
section 1796, as will better accomodate all parties. 

(b) Special powers delegated to the subdirector by the law, as, 
for instance, the control of the school-house in his own sub- 
district (section 1753) and the right to determine whether schol- 
ars may attend from or in an adjoining subdistrict (section 1795) 
cannot be assumed by the board. 

Sec 1796. (a) While this section provides that boards may 
change subdistrict boundaries at the regular meeting in Sep- 
tember, or at a special meeting called for that purpose between 
September and March, it must be understood that such change 
cannot be made so late as to prevent the notices for election from 
being given at least five days previous to the election, as required 
by section 1718. 

(b) It requires a vote of a majority of all the members of the 
board of directors to make any changes in the boundaries of sub- 
districts. See section 1738. 

(c) It is especially important that the county auditor and 
treasurer be officially notified by the district secretary whenever 
any changes are made in the district township boundaries, by 



112 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

the formation of independent districts or otherwise, to enable 
th» ?se officers to perform their duties in the levy of taxes and the 
apportionment and disbursement of school funds. 

(</) By congressional divisions of land is meant those divisions 
authorized by congress in government surveys, of which the 
smallest is, in general, one-sixteenth of a section, or a tract of 
forty acres in a square form. Government lines, however, some- 
times meander along streams and other bodies of water, and 
divisions of land are thus formed of less than forty acres. 

Sec. 1707. (a) This section contains the only provision of 
law under which a subdistrict can be formed from parts of two 
or more district townships The law should be strictly com- 
plied with, else the proceedings will be invalid. Suudistricts 
cannot be formed from portions of two or more counties. 

(b) Streams well bridged and distance are not " natural ob- 
stacles" in the contemplation of the law. 

(c) S ich subdistricts can be formed only by concurrent action 
of the board of directors of the district from which the territory 
is taken, and the county superintendent. As the county super- 
intendent has original concurrent jurisdiction, no appeal can be 
taken from the refusal of the board to give consent. 

Sec. 1798. (a) This section was changed by chapter 111 of 
the eighteenth general assembly, to apply also to independent dis- 
tricts. 

(6) When the boundaries of districts are changed, the territory 
transferred carries with it a just proportion of all assets and 
liabilities of the district from which it is taken. 

Sec. 1799. District township boundaries must conform to the 
boundaries of civil townships under the provisions of section 1713. 
The boundaries of independent districts are not affected by the 
change of civil township boundaries. 

INDEPENDENT DISTRICTS. 

Sec. 1800. (a) The two hundred inhabitants must be con- 
tained within the limits of the town or village. Additional ter- 
ritory should be given by the board of directors in forming the 
new independent district. Usually; territory equivalent to about 
four government sections will constitute a proper district. 

(b) An independent district cannot be formed from a city, town 
or village situated within an independent district, because no dis- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 113 

trict township board can establish the boundaries, as provided by 
sections 1801 and 1805. 

(c) When the boundaries of cities or towns are extended, the 
boundaries of their respective school districts are not correspond- 
ingly extended. See Iowa Reports, -40, 425. 

Sec. 1801. (<>) The contemplated independent district must 
include all of the city, town or village, and may include a*s much 
contiguous territory as the board of directors think proper. It. 
is not iimited by subdistrict lines, but may, if necessary, include 
a part or all of two or more subdistricts. When the boundaries 
extend beyond the limits of a town or city, they must conform to 
lines of congressional divisions of laud. See note (a) to sec- 
tion 1800. 

(b) The board of directors of the district township in which 
a majority of the voters of the contemplated independent dis- 
trict reside, may establish the boundaries of said district without 
the concurrence of any other board of directors, even when said 
territory is taken from two or more civil or district townships in 
the same or adjoining counties. See section 18 >5. 

(c) The notices of the election to determine the question of 
a separate organization should state with clearness the boundaries 
of the proposed district. 

(d) The president and secretary of the district township 
should act as chairman and secretary of this meeting, and as 
judges of the election ; in their absence a chairman and secretary 
should be chosen by the electors. 

(<?) "All of the electors residing within the proposed limits 
must be permitted to vote on the question of separate organiza- 
tion." Fort Dodge City School District v. District Tovmship 
of Wahkonsa, 17 Iowa, 85. 

(/) "At the meeting held to determine the question of sepa- 
rate organi ation of an independent district, the polls must 
remain open from 9 o'clock a. m. until 4 o'clock p. m." Dis- 
trict Township of Hesper v. Independent District of Burr Oak, 
34 Iowa, 306. 

Sec 1802. (a) The first board of directors of an independ- 
ent district will enter upon the discharge of official duties as 
soon as qualified, and organize by electing a president, a secretary 
and a treasurer; the term of office of the president will expire 
on the third Monday in March following his election ; of the 

8 



114 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

secretary and treasurer, on the third Monday in September after 
their election. The secretary should immediately file with the 
county superintendent, auditor and treasurer, each, a certificate, 
showing the officers of the board, and their post-office address, 
and should notify them of all subsequent changes made in the 
officers of the board. See section 1736. 

(b) In all independent districts, the president is chosen by 
the board from their own number, on the third Monday in 
March. He has the right to vote on ail questions coming before 
the board. Chapter 113 of the seventeenth general assembly, 
amended section 1802, depriving the president of the right to 
vote; but this chapter was repealed by chapter 143 of the eight- 
eenth general assembly, and hence the law is restored to the 
present reading. See sections 1721 and 1739, note (a). 

(c) The secretary and treasurer are elected on the third Mon- 
day in September. In districts containing over five hundred in- 
habitants, they must be chosen outside of the board. In dis- 
tricts containing less, the secretary may or may not be chosen 
from the board, but the treasurer must be chosen outside of the 
board. This is the effect of a change made by chapter 143 of 
the eighteenth general assembly. This law is now in force, 
and all treasurers of such districts must be chosen hereafter out- 
side of the board. The present treasurers will fill their un- 
expired term. When chosen outside the board they have no 
vote. 

(d) The last official census will, as a general rule, be suffi- 
ciently accurate to determine questions relating to the population; 
but in cases of doubt, the actual existing facts govern; these facts 
may be ascertained by any reliable means. 

(e). In case the board fail to elect an officer on the day fixed by 
lav/, or at an adjourned meeting the day of which was fixed at the 
time of adjournment, the incumbent holds over and should qualify 
anew. See section 690, Code, quoted in note (c) to section 1751. 
If the treasurer continues in office by reason of failure to elect a 
successor, his bond should be renewed and he should produce and 
account for the funds in his hands, and the statement of such 
settlement should be stated on his new bond. 

(f) All proceedings connected with the organization of the 
district should be recorded by the secretary in the records of the 
district, so that the facts concerning its formation and organiza- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 115 

tion may be readily obtained in case the validity of the proceed- 
ings should ever be questioned. 

Sec 1804. When a new independent district is organized, as 
provided by this section, the board of directors have authority 
to determine and certify ail necessary taxes, for school purposes, 
for that year, including school-house taxes. 

Sec. 1805. An independent district composed of territory from 
two counties, belongs, for school purposes, to the county wherein 
a majority of the scholars reside. A certificate to teach should be 
issued by the superintendent of the county to which it thus be- 
longs, which certificate is valid for any school in the district. 

Sec 1807. (a) The power to vote school-house taxes belongs 
exclusively to the electors. The amount deemed necessary, and 
not a certain number of mills on the dollar, should be voted. 
The sums necessary for the teachers' and contingent funds are 
determined by the board of directors. 

ib) The electors frequently assume powers not granted to them 
by the law. They have only such powers as are specifically enu- 
merated in the law. 

Sec 1808. (a) All vacancies which have occurred in the board, 
during the preceding year, should also be filled by election, and 
the ballot should designate the vacancy to be filled ; the persons 
so elected hold for the residue of the unexpired term ; all persons 
appointed to fill vacancies in office hold until the next regular 
election. See Constitution of Iowa, article 11, section 6; also, 
section 785, Code. 

(b) The members elect enter upon their duties at the time of 
the regular meeting of the board, on the third Monday in March. 
For time and manner of choosing the officers of the board, see 
sections 1721, 1790, 1802, 1806, and notes. 

Sec 1809. (a) The change of boundaries authorized by the 
provisions of this section may be made at any time of year. 

(b) Territory transferred from one district to another carries 
with it an equitable proportion of the assets and liabilities of the 
district from which it is taken; the district to which it is trans- 
ferred becomes responsible for such liabilities. 

(c) If the boundary between an independent district and a 
district township is the line of the civil township, it cannot be 
changed; but if the independent district includes a portion of a 
civil township, the remainder of which constitutes a district 
township, the boundaries can be changed. 



116 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

(d) Where a change of boundaries between districts is desired, 
and one of the boards acts favorably to the change, a petition 
may be presented to the other board to concur in that action, 
although they formerly may have refused to grant a similar 
petition. From the action of 1 he board upon this petition, refus- 
ing to concur, an appeal may be taken. 

(e) No appeal can be taken from the action of board taking 
the initiatory step, while it require- the concurrence of another 
board to complete the action. The concurrence or non-concur- 
rence of the second board is the order from which an appeal may 
be taken. See Decisions. 

(/) When an appeal is taken from the proper board, the county 
superintendent must affirm the action of one board or the other, 
but cannot himself modify the action of the board acting first. 

Sec 1812. (a) The language of the last clause is construed 
to mean that the said board shall proceed to call an election in 
the independent district for the election of officers, as provided 
by section 1802. 

Sec. 1813. (a) This statement should show the total receipts 
and expenditures for each fund, followed by an estimate of the 
amount required for each fund to maintain the schools for the 
ensuing year. The "detailed and specific statement of the re- 
ceipts and disbursements of all funds expended," should be 
sufficiently itemized to show the amount received from each 
separate source; also, the amount expended for each particular 
purpose. 

(b) This statement is for the information o? the electors, but 
they cannot vote upon the amount of taxes to be levied for oon- 
tingent and teachers' fund, since the-e matters are determined 
by the board. See section 1777. 

Sec 1814. (a) Any district township may organize under the 
provisions of this section into a single independent district, em- 
bracing the whole township. The vote may be ordered at any 
regular or special meeting of the board and submitted to the 
electors at any time of the year, but if carried in the affirmative, 
does not take effect until the second Monday in March following, 
when the directors are elected. 

(b) By adopting the independent district system there will 
be but six directors in any case, and but three where the town- 
ship contains less than five hundred inhabitants. At the first 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 117 

election the whole number is elected, and divided by lot into 
three classes; after which, one or two directors only will b© 
elected annually. 

(c) When independent districts have been formed from the 
subdistricts of a township, they may also, under the provisions 
of this section, unite into one independent district. In this 
case, the petition of one-third of the electors in the township 
should be presented to the township trustees, whose duty it is 
to call the meeting to vote on the question of consolidated 
organization. 

(d) The plan of making each civil township an independent 
district, governed by a board of directors chosen from the town- 
ship at large, is, in many respects, the best system yet devised. 
It roduces the number of school officers, provides for gradual 
changes in the ho:ird, secures uniform taxation for the support 
of schools throughout the township, encourages the establish- 
ment of graded schools for advanced scholars, and tends to the 
selection of teachers according to the qualifications and work 
required in each particular case. 

Sec. 1815. (a) The electors of any civil township which has 
adopted the independent district organization, may vote upon 
the question of returning to the district township organization, 
under the provisions of sections 1815-1820, as amended. This 
amendment operates as a repeal of these sections as found in 
the Code of 1873. 

(b) A single independent district embracing the whole of the 
civil township may be formed under the provisions of section 
1614; a system possessing many advantages over any other, in 
simplicity of organization, permanency of officers, uniformity 
of taxation, and economy of management. See note (d) to sec- 
tion 1814. 

Sec. 1816. (a) The petition provided for in this section may be 
presented to the trustees and the vote ordered at any time of year. 

(b) The meet ng held to determine the question of district 
township organization is a township meeting; if the vote is in the 
affirmative, each and every independent district in the town- 
ship, except those composed of cities or towns, becomes a 
subdistrict of the district township. 

(c) The township trustees may act as judges of this election ; 
in their absence the electors assembled may choose a chairman 



118 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

and one or two secretaries to act as judges. The polls should be 
kept open from 9 a. m. to 4 p. m. See note (/) to section 1801. 

Sec 1817. The board of directors of each independent district 
will continue to act until the third Monday in March following 
the election, at which time a full statement of all assets and lia- 
bilities of the district should be reported to the board of directors 
of the district township when organized. 

Sec. 1818, For powers and duties of this meeting see sections 
1718 and 1719, and notes. 

Sec 1819. (a) Upon the organization of the district town- 
ship, the secretary should file with the county auditor and treas- 
urer a certified plat of the district and report to the county super- 
intendent, auditor, and treasurer, the name and address of each 
officer of the board. 

(b) The district township meeting should be held on the second 
Monday in March, for the purpose of voting the necessary school- 
house taxes, as provided in section 1717. 

Sec 1820. (a) Between the time of the election provided for 
in section 1816, and the third Monday in March following, the 
boards of directors of the several independent districts have 
authority to perform all necessary acts relating to the affairs of 
their districts, but they cannot incur any indebtedness nor make 
any contracts, except such as may be necessary to maintain the 
usual schools of their districts. 

(b) The district township receives all the assets and assumes all 
the liabilities of the several independent districts. In case an 
independent district has issued bonds or otherwise incurred an 
indebtedness for the erection of a school-house, the board of 
directors of the district township have authority to apportion 
school-house taxes for the payment of such indebtedness from 
time to time as justice and equity may require. 

Sec 1821. (a) Bonds voted under the provisions of this 
section may be issued an I sold as the necessities oC the inde- 
pendent district require, but cannot be made available for the 
purchase of school-house sites. 

{b) Chapter 132, of the eighteenth general assembly provides 
for the refunding of bonded indebtedness by a two-thirds vote of 
the board of directors, without a vote of 'the electors, but the 
interest upon bonds so issued is limited to seven per cent, and the 
bonds must run at least five years. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 119 

Sec. 1822. The amendment requires tha bonds to be attested 
by the secretary. 

Sec. 1824. Interest can be paid on an order only from the date 
of its presentation, whether the rate is specified in the order or 
not. 

Sec. 1825. (a) Land belonging to the state may be taken for 
a school-house site, and the county auditor is the proper party 
to receive notice for the state. 

(b) A school-house site of less than one acre may be enlarged 
to one acre. 

(c) If the district cannot establish its claim to the school- 
house site — owing to the loss of the deed, or for other reason — 
and the owner refuses to grant the site, the district may avail 
itself of the provisions of this and the following sections and 
secure a site not to exceed one acre. 

(d) Property encumbered, occupied as a homestead, belonging 
to minor heirs, or the public domain, may be taken under the 
provisions of this section. 

(e) The acre contemplated in this section we think means 
exclusive of highway. 

Sec. 1826. (a) All sites except in incorporated towns, must 
be located on a public road, and at least forty rods from any 
residence the owner whereof objects to its being placed nearer, 
whether obtained by purchase or under the provisions of these 
sections. 

(b) If the public, with the knowledge of the owner of land, 
has claimed and continuously exercised the right of using the 
same for a public highway, for a period equal to that fixed by 
the statute for the limitation of real actions, a complete right to 
the highway thereby becomes established against the owner, 
unless it appears that such use was by favor, leave, or mistake. 
See 22 Iowa, 457. 

(c) " Under the Iowa statute of limitations, ten years' user of 
a highway by the public, under a claim of right, will bar the 
owner of the soil." Iowa Reports, 19, 123. 

Sec. 1827. (a) If personal service cannot be made, as pro- 
vided by sections 2001-2610, Code, the notice must be published 
four consecutive weeks, previous to the appraisement, in a news- 
paper. See sections 2618-2620, Code. 

(b) The appraisers are entitled to two dollars for each day's 



120 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

service, and ten cents per mile from their residence to the location 
of the property appraised. See sections 3811-3813, Code. 

(c) When the owner of land taken under the provisions of 
section 1827 is unknown or cannot be found it is not necessary 
to print the report of appraisement, or to attempt other notice to 
said owner than the printed notice required by this section. See 
note (a). It is sufficient for the county superintendent to send a 
certified copy to the board of direcl ors. 

(d) If the school board have deposited with the county treas- 
urer the amount, assessed by the appraisers in accordance with 
the provisions of this section, we think the courts of law would 
hold that the district had come into possession of the site. 

(e) The money deposited with the county treasurer should be 
held for the benefit of the owner of the fee, and not for the 
mortgagee. Attorney-general's opinion of August 21, 1878. 

(/) Since the receipt of the treasurer for the money deposited 
with him for the owner of the land may be the only evidence of 
title, such receipt should have a full description of the property, 
containing the proviso, for reversion to owner, and should be 
recorded by the county recorder. 

Sec 1828. (a) No deed or other instrument from the owner is 
required to authorize the district to occupy the land for school 
purposes. The proceedings should be recorded in full by the 
district secretary. 

(b) Incase land desired for a school site is under mortgage, 
the district may receive from the owner the lease of a portion 
not to exceed one acre, to be held by the district as long as used 
for school purposes, and when no longer so used to revert to the 
owner, as provided by this section. 

Sec. 1829. (a) The right of appeal is limited to persons 
aggrieved or injuriously affected by the decision or order com- 
plained of. 

(b) After the expiration of thirty days the county superin- 
tendent cannot entertain an appeal. 

(c) All the decisions or orders of the board of directors are 
subject to revision on appeal; when the act complained of is of a 
discretionary character, the action of the board should be sus- 
tained unless it is clearly shown that the board violated law, 
abused its discretion, or acted with manifest injustice. Edwards 
v. District Township of West Point, School Law Decisions, 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 121 

(d) No appeal can be taken from the action of the board taking 
the initiatory step, while it requires the concurrence of another 
board to complete the action. The concurrence or non-concur- 
rence of the second board is the order from which an appeal may 
be taken. See Decisions, pages 30 and 57; also, note (g) to 
section 1809. 

Sec. 1830. An affidavit is a written declaration under oath, 
made without notice to the adverse party. See section 3689, 
Code. It must be sworn to before some officer authorized to 
administer oaths. A county superintendent can have no juris- 
diction of an appeal case until such affidavit has been filed. A 
notice of intention to file an affidavit, a verbal complaint, or a 
j petition, is not sufficient to give the county superintendent juris- 
diction in appeal cases. 

Sec. 1831. (a) The affidavit should contain, first, a statement 
of the decision complained of, and its date; second, a statement 
of the facts showing that the appellant has an interest in the 
decision and is injuriously affected by it; third, the assignment 
of errors. See Form No. 14. 

(b) This affidavit being the first paper filed, care should be 
taken that the case is properly entitled, and this title should be 
preserved throughout the further progress of the appeal. The 
date of filing should be indorsed upon the affidavit by the super- 
intendent. 

Sec 1832. (a) The notice should describe the decision or 
order appealed from, so that it may be identified, and should re- 
quire the district secretary to file the transcript with the super- 
intendent within the time specified The notice may be served 
personally or sent by mail. 

(b) The secretary shall make and forward a transcript or 
copy of the record of all actions of the board relating to the de- 
cision or order appealed from, also of all petitions, remon- 
strances, plates and papers pertaining thereto. The original 
papers must be preserved with the district records. 

(c) During the pendency of an appeal, all matters must re- 
main in statu quo, and this can be enforced by writ of injunc- 
tion. Also, during such time, no opinion relating to the case 
will be given to interested parties, by this department. See 
also note (/) to section 1718. 

Sec, 1833. Notice of the time and place of hearing should be 



122 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

given to the appellant, to the secretary of the board, and to all 
other persons known to be interested. The notices may be 
served personally or sent by mail. 

Sec 1834. (a) County superintendents, in entertaining and 
determining cases appealed from boards of school directors, are 
not invested with judicial powers. District Township of Sioux 
City v. Pratt, 17 Iowa, 16. While, according to this decision, the 
superintendent is not a court in the strict sense of the term, he 
is required to administer oaths, to hear evidence on both sides, 
and to render a just and equitable decision. And while mere 
technicalities should not be permitted to prevent the attainment 
of justice, it is not inappropriate that the superintendent should 
be governed by the same rules as to evidence and practice, which 
ordinarily obtain in courts. 

(b) In case of disturbance or interruption during the trial of 
an appeal before a county superintendent, since he is not invested 
with judicial power, he has only the ordinary remedy of complaint 
to the proper authorities, as provided for in section 4069, Code. 

(c) The docket or minutes of the superintendent should com- 
mence by noting the filing of the affidavit of the appellant. He 
will afterwards, as the acts transpire, record the sending of the 
notice of appeal to the district secretary, the filing of the tran- 
script, the sending of notices of the hearing, and any adjourn- 
ment of the case that may be granted. At the trial ho will care- 
fully note down the names of all parties appearing, and their 
post-office address, and whether they appear for or against the 
appeal; also, the filing of all papers and names of witnesses, and 
in whose behalf such papers or witnesses are introduced. The 
decision of the superintendent will form an appropriate close of 
his minutes. " See Forms 14, 15, 16 and 17. 

(d) All testimony must be given under oath and the sub- 
stance reduced to writing at the time by the county superintend- 
ent. It is of the first importance that the record of the testi- 
mony be full and accurate, as the decision of the county super- 
intendent, also of the superintendent of public instruction, in 
case the appeal is carried up, must be based upon the record of 
evidence introduced. This testimony should be preserved with 
the other papers of the case. 

Sec 1835. (a) Appeals to the superintendent of public 
instruction are conducted in the same manner and governed by 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 123 

the same rules, so far as applicable, as appeals to county super- 
intendents. The basis of the appeal must be an affidavit filed in 
the office of the superintendent of public instruction, within 
thirty days from the date of the decision appealed from. For 
form and contents of the affidavit, see notes to sections 1830-1. 

Upon the filing of such an affidavit, the superintendent of 
public instruction will notify the county superintendent to forward 
a transcript of the papers in the case within thirty days. The 
original papers must be preserved on file in the county superin- 
tendent's office. Upon the filing of the transcript, thirty days' 
notice of the time set for hearing will be given to all parties 
interested. This time may be diminished, on the written agree- 
ment of both parties. 

(b) At the hearing, parties interested may appear personally 
or by attorney, and argue their cases orally, if they desire, or 
they may send written arguments. The records of the case in 
the county superintendent's office will furnish the data required 
for these arguments. The records of cases in the offices of 
county superintendents, which are public records, and should be 
open as such to examination by all parties interested, will furnish 
all needed data where access to the transcript sent up is incon- 
venient. The superintendent of public instruction will not hear 
original testimony in the ca c es submitted to him. 

(c) Any person aggrieved by an action of the county super- 
intendent in refusing to grant a certificate or in revoking the 
same> may apply to him for a rehearing: the proceedings to cor- 
respond as nearly as possible to the proceedings in the case of an 
appeal from a board of directors. If any party is aggrieved by 
the result of this investigation an appeal may be taken therefrom 
to the superintendent of public instruction. See opinion of the 
attorney-general, School Journal for June, 1867; also, Dougherty 
v. Tracy, School Law Decisions, page 34. 

(d) A party in whose favor an appeal is decided has the remedy 
of a writ of mandamus from a court of law, to enforce the 
decision of appeal. 

Sec 1836. Payment for postage in advance will be required 
with the affidavit. It is impossible to tell what amount of post- 
age will be needed in each case, and one dollar will be required, to 
cover all needed postage. This will undoubtedly re-imburse the 
state for outlay of postage in appeal cases. 



124 • SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

Sec. 1585. Chapter 115 of the laws of the seventeenth general 
assembly changed the provisions of section 1585, preventing the 
use of university funds for the support of a preparatory depart- 
ment, heretofore sustained by the university. Students are now 
required to come prepared to enter upon collegiate studies. For 
terms of admission to the university, apply to the president of 
the university, at Iowa City. 



CHAPTER 129, LAWS OF 1876. 

(As amended by Chapter 142, Laws of 1878.) 

STATE NORMAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL. 

Section 5. This section was amended by Chapter 142, of the 
seventeenth general assembly, authorizing the board of directors 
to charge a tuition fee. For terms of admission to the school, 
apply to the principal of the normal school, at Cedar Falls. 



CHAPTER 133, LAWS OF 1878. 
(As amended by Chapter 131, Laws of 1880.) 

SUBDIVISION OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

Section 1. (a) The provisions of this section as amended 
apply to all independent districts organized under the laws of 
this state. 

(b) The amount of territory cannot be less than an equivalent 
of four government sections, unless the provisions of the latter 
part of this section apply. 

(c) An independent district containing territory amounting 
to less than eight government sections may be divided into two 
independent districts, if an unbridged stream or other obstacle 
prevents a considerable number of scholars from attending school, 
or if one portion contains a village of not less than one hundred 
inhabitants. The district so formed must contain territory 
amounting to not less than two government sections, and a 
majority of the votes cast in each contemplated district must be 
cast fur the division. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 125 

Sec. 2. When the required number of electors petition for 
snch division, the board of directors are compelled to call the 
election. 

Sec 5. When the division has been made, a settlement of 
assets and liabilities must be made, in conformity with section 
1715. 



CHAPTER 8, LAWS OF 1880. 

SEPARATE POLLING PLACES. 

Section 1. This chapter applies only to cities which, with 
their contiguous territory, have not less than 15,000 inhabitants, 
as determined by the last state or national census. 

Sec. 2. The directors should submit all questions pertaining 
to school-house taxes, including those for library and apparatus, 
in such way that the electors can determine these questions by 
ballot. 



CHAPTER 51, LAWS OF 1880. 

This chapter is substantially a re-enactment of chapter 132 of 
the seventeenth general assembly. 



CHAPTER 132, LAWS OF 1880. 

Section 1. The board of directors can refund outstanding 
bonds by a two-thirds vote of the board. The bonds must run 
at least five yeais, and the interest is limited to seven per cent. 
They are not required to submit the question of issuing bonds to 
redeem outstanding bonds, to the electors, as provided in section 
1821. if the above conditions are fulfilled. 



PART III 



DECISIONS. 



SARAH E. SMITH V. DISTRICT TOWXSHIP OF ALBION 

Appeal from Howard County. 

Teachers: Right of , to inflict punishment upon their pupils, 
A school master who stands in loco parentis may, in proper cases, 
inflict moderate and reasonable chastisement. The law confides 
to teachers a discretionary power in the infliction of punishment 
upon their pupils, and will not hold them responsible criminally, 
unless the punishment be such as to occasion permanent injury to 
the child, or be inflicted merely to gratify their own evil passions. 

The record in this case shows that the plaintiff, Sarah 
E. Smith, entered into a contract with the subdirector of 
subdistrict number two in said district township, to teach 
a school for fonr months, commencing on the 19th of 
December, 1864. That she commenced her school ac- 
cordingly, and taught until the 30th of January, 1865. 
That on the 29th of January she was notified to meet the 
board of directors to answer to the charge of undue 
severity in chastising one of her pupils ; that she attended 
the meeting of the board and made her defense, but the 
board decided to expel her from her school, paying her 
for the time she had taught. From this action of the 
board she appealed to the county superintendent, who 
reversed the order of the board, and from the decision of 
the county superintendent an appeal is brought to the 
superintendent of public instruction. 



128 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

It is claimed on the part of the board that the county 
superintendent had no jurisdiction, and that he erred in 
entertaining the appeal and reversing the order of the 
board ; but having gone to trial before the county super- 
intendent, and having submitted the case, after making 
their defense, they cannot now plead want of jurisdiction. 

The testimony shows that the pupil, a boy of some 
twelve years of age, did not like the seat assigned him by 
the teacher, and asked permission to go out, which was 
given ; that he started toward home; that the teacher 
called to him to come back, threatening to punish 
him if he disobeyed ; that he went home and remained 
out of school about a week; that at the close of the 
school on the day he returned the teacher reminded him 
of the punishment threatened, and proceeded to adminis- 
ter it, striking him over the shoulders and back with a 
whip furnished by one of the pupils ; that the boy 
resisted, striking back, snatching away the whip, and 
using bad language ; that the teacher obtained another 
whip— a willow switch — and administered several strokes 
with it, some of which were across his head and face, in 
consequence of which one of the boy's eyes was apparently 
injured. An older brother of the boy then interfered, and 
the " affray ended." 

It does not appear that the teacher punished hastily or 
in anger, or that it would have been too severe, or im. 
properly administered, had the boy not resisted. It is 
doubtful whether the resistance justified the teacher in 
striking the boy across the head and thereby causing an 
injury — fortunately temporary — to one of his eyes. The 
county superintendent regarded this as accidental, and as 
no permanent injury was sustained, justified the teacher. 

Much has been written during the last twenty-five 
years in regard to the proper means to be used for main- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 129 

taming the authority of the teacher over the pupils. We 
can remember when the whip was applied very frequently 
and very severely — when the pupil obeyed from fear of 
punishment, and not from any sense of duty or of respect 
for authority. Since that time there has been a great 
change ; appeals to reason, to a sense of duty and to right 
have been successfully used by the most competent 
teachers. In many schools the rod is excluded, and yet 
ready and cheerful obedience is secured from the pupils. 
We wish such a result could be reached in all the schools ; 
that the teacher could inspireUhe pupils with such a love 
for order — for good government and for rightful author- 
ity ; with such a love for right-doing and such a hate for 
wrong-doing, that it would only be necessary to point out 
the path of duty instead of the command to walk in it. 
While family government and the public sentiment of 
some communities may render such a course possible, 
the want of family government and the loose reins given 
to " Young America," in many communities require strong 
and physical force to hold in subjection unsubdued nature. 

All admit that the teacher must maintain authority, 
and for that purpose he is sustained by the highest 
authorities in inflicting moderate punishment. 

In Kent's Commentaries, 9th edition, volume 2, page 
222, is the following : " A school-master who stands in 
loco parentis, may in proper cases inflict moderate and 
reasonable chastisement." 

In Wharton's American 2 Criminal Law, 5th edition, 
volume 1, page 669, is the following: 

" The law confides to school-masters and teachers a 
discretionary power in the infliction of punishment upon 
their pupils, and will not hold them responsible criminally, 
unless the punishment be such as to occasion permanent 
injury to the child, or be inflicted merely to gratify their 



130 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

own evil passions." State v. Pendergrass, 2 Dev. & Bat, 
407. 

" On the trial of an indictment of a school-master for 
an assanlt on a pupil the judge refused to instruct the jury 
that the defendant was criminally liable for punishing a 
pupil only when he acted malo amnio, from vindictive 
feeling, passion, or ill-will, or inflicted more punishment 
than was necessary to secure obedience, and not for error 
of opinion or judgment, provided he was governed by an 
honest purpose to promote discipline and the highest wel- 
fare of the school, and the best interests of the child ; and 
instructed them that in inflicting corporal punishment a 
teacher must exercise reasonable judgment and discretion, 
and be governed as to the mode and severity of the pun- 
ishment by the nature of the offense, the age, size, and 
apparent powers of endurance of the pupil." Common- 
wealth v. Randall, 4 Gray (Mass.), 36. 

" If there is any reasonable doubt that the punishment 
was excessive the master should have the benefit of it." 
Lander v. Seaver, 32 Vt. (3 Shaw), 114. 

We add the following as having some 'bearing on this 
case: 

" Though a school-master has in general no right to 
punish a pupil for misconduct committed after the dis- 
missal of a school for the day, and the return of the 
pupil to his home, yet he may, on the pupil's return to 
school, punish him for any misbehavior, though com- 
mitted out of school, which has a direct and immediate 
tendency to injure the school and to subvert the master's 
authority." Lander v. Seaver, supra. 

Many other authorities might be cited establishing the 
authority of the teacher to inflict punishment necessary 
for securing obedience to reasonable rules. As it is not 
shown in this case that the rules were unreasonable or the 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 131 

punishment severe (the teacher must have the benefit of 
the doubt in regard to the manner of punishing), the 
decision of the county superintendent is 

Affirmed. 
ORAN FAVILLE. 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
April 22, 1865. 

MARIA L. DOUGHERTY V. L. D. TRACY, COUNTY 
SUPERINTENDENT. 

Appeal from Grundy County. 

1. Revocation op Teacher's Certificate. The order of a 
county superintendent revoking a certificate will not be interfered 
with on appeal, unless it appears that he acted from passion or 
prejudice. 

2. . Opinions unsupported by facts cannot be received 

as satisfactory evidence of prejudice. 

April 1, 1867. L. D. Tracy, superintendent of common 
schools for the county of Grundy, revoked the certificate 
of Maria L. Dougherty, a teacher of said county, on the 
alleged ground of incompetency to properly govern and 
control a school. A notice of the revocation, made out 
in due form, was served upon the secretaries of the 
several district townships ; but no notice of the revocation 
was served by the superintendent on the plaintiff. 

The plaintiff appealed to the superintendent of public 
instruction, who by circular of May 15, 1867, directed 
that the case should be heard by the county superintend- 
ent. Such hearing took place June 7, 1867. During 
the examination twenty-three persons, patrons and pupils, 
testified to the good order of the school, and the general 
good character and reputation of the plaintiff as a teacher. 
Fourteen persons made affidavit that they believed plain- 
tiff's certificate was revoked from personal prejudice. 



132 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

One witness, called by the defense, testified that the 
school was not governed as well as it might have been ; 
that he several times heard cursing and swearing on the 
school grounds at noon and recess. Three persons testified 
that they did not believe the superintendent revoked 
plaintiff's certificate from prejudice or passion. Nineteen 
persons certified that they believed Mr. Tracy to be a 
competent and impartial officer, and free from any 
malicious administration. 

The county superintendent, disregarding the weight of 
evidence in regard to the plaintiff's qualifications, affirmed 
his previous decision revoking plaintiff's certificate, and 
certified that the act was done without prejudice or 
passion toward the plaintiff, and that he was impelled 
to that course by conviction, which was the result of 
personal observation and knowledge, that plaintiff was 
incompetent to govern a school properly. 

From that decision the plaintiff appeals. 

If this case could be determined by the weight of 
evidence in regard to the plaintiff's ability to govern a 
school properly the decision would be in plaintiff's favor. 
But there are other elements for consideration. The 
county superintendent is clothed with large discretionary 
powers. So great has this discretion been regarded that 
it has been held by previous incumbents of the office of 
superintendent of public instruction that the refusal to 
grant a teacher's certificate or the revocation of such 
certificate by a county superintendent was an act so wholly 
discretionary that it was not subject to revision. The 
circular of May 15, 1867, from this department, main- 
taining the right of appeal in such cases was not intended 
to curtail the discretionary power of county superintend- 
ents, but to point out a way in which its abuse might be 
corrected. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 133 

Iii the absence of special statutory provisions in regard 
to the manner of hearing appeals, it is presumed that 
general principles are applicable. 

It may not be amiss at this time to enunciate some 
general principles which will be observed in the adjudica- 
tion of this and similar cases. 

I. The discretion of a county superintendent in re- 
fusing or revoking a teacher's certificate will not be 
interfered with by the superintendent of public instruc- 
tion unless it is clearly shown that the county superintend- 
ent in such act violated the law in letter or spirit, or was 
influenced by passion or prejudice. This position is 
believed to be correct in the light of both principle and 
public policy. The general rule is, "the supreme court 
will not interfere with the decisions of the district court 
in cases where the latter has a discretionary power, unless 
it is fully apparent that such power has been abused." 
Hammond's Iowa Digest, page 65. Numerous cases 
might be cited in support of this rule, but such citations 
are deemed unnecessary. The county superintendent is 
presumed to be selected from among his fellow citizens 
on account of his ability to exercise a sound discretion in 
the discharge of the important duties of his office. He 
is bound by a solemn oalh to discharge his trusts with 
fidelity. He is on the ground and has a personal knowl- 
edge of the circumstances. He can judge of the ed- 
ucational requirements of his county better than another 
person scores of miles distant. In his examination of 
teachers and in his visits to their schools he can judge of 
the teacher's comparative and actual merit and ability 
better than those who have less extended opportunities 
for observation. He is responsible to his constituents for 
the manner in which his duties are performed. His 
official acts may be reviewed and modified or annulled by 



134 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

the superintendent of public instruction. Frequent 
interference with the discretion of county superintendents 
would tend to bring their authority into contempt, and 
to unsettle the foundations of our school system. While, 
then, the right to review an abuse of discretion is reserved, 
and the right to reverse an illegal decision maintained, 
the discretion of county superintendents will not be inter- 
fered with unless such interference is necessary to secure 
justice or vindicate law. 

II. The proof of the violation of law, or of the in- 
fluence of passion or prejudice in the performance of 
official duty must be clear and convincing. Mere opinion, 
unsupported by facts, is insufficient to establish the allega- 
tion of passion or prejudice. "As a general rule wit- 
nesses, unless experts, should state facts not opinions. 9 * 
Wh it 'more v. Bowman, 4 G.Greene, Iowa, 148. '"Except 
when given by experts, evidence of mere opinion is not 
competent, unless upon some controlling ground of 
necessity, resulting from the nature of the inquiry." 
Dalzell v. City of Davenport, 12 Iowa, 437 ; Danforth, 
Dennis & Co. v. Carter & May, 4 Iowa, 230. 

In the light of these principles, which are believed to 
be correct and proper, conclusions may be readily formed. 

It is held that it is not necessary for the county super- 
intendent to notify the plaintiff of his intention to revoke 
her certificate before taking such action ; neither does 
the law require him to serve a copy of the revocation 
upon the plaintiff, subsequently. Courtesy and propriety 
however, would dictate that the teacher should receive 
immediate notice of the revocation from the county 
superintendent. 

The rulings of the county superintendent on the ad- 
mission of evidence have no material effect on the final 
decision of the case, hence the exceptions of the plain 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 135 

tiff thereto are passed over. The revocation of a teacher's 
certificate is adjudged to be an act of discretion on the 
part of the county superintendent, which will not be inter- 
fered with, without satisfactory proof of illegality or of 
prejudice. 

In this case, while the weight of testimony is favorable 
to plaintiff's qualification, and opinion is conflicting in 
regard to .prejudice, there is not a single fact adduced in 
the testimony upon which the theory of prejudice can be 
based. On the other hand, the county superintendent 
headed a subscription to pay plaintiff's board, and was 
the first to pay said subscription. During the term he 
told tiie subdirector that the plairitiff must be sustained 
in her government of the school at all hazards ; and 
these facts indicate the absence of prejudice. The mere 
opinion of witnesses, unsupported by facts, cannot be re- 
ceived as satisfactory evidence of prejudice. 

Some embarrassment is experienced in this case from 
the circumstance that tiie plaintiff belongs to that gentler 
sex to which we are all educated to do homage, and the 
idea is largely prevalent that they are not amenable to 
law in an equal degree with the opposite sex ; but having 
a high regard for the rights of women, we dare not per- 
vert law even to shield them from its operation. We are 
therefore compelled to affirm the decision of the county 
superintendent. 

Affirmed. 
D. FRANKLIN WELLS, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

October 1, 1867. 



x 



136 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

BENJAMIN SMITH V. DISTRICT TOWNSHIP OF COFFIN'S 
GROVE. 

Appeal from Delaware County. 

1. Proceedings. In the absence of proof to the contrary, the 
legal presumption is that the proceedings before the county 
superintendent were entirely regular. 

2. Explanatory Notes: Force of . Notes to the school law, 
while proper aids to school officers, have not the binding force of 
law, and a non-compliance with them is not necessarily a violation 
of law. 

On the petition of the electors of subdistrict number 
one, Coffin's Grove district township, the board of direct- 
ors thereof located the site of a proposed new school- 
house "just east of the burying ground, on the right hand 
side of the road, adjoining the corner of Mr. Brook's 
field." From this action plaintiff appealed to the county 
superintendent on the 25th of March, by whom the case 
was heard April 19, 186?. On the 13th of June the 
county superintendent issued an order re-locating the site 
three-fourths of a mile further south, and at or near the 
center of the subdistrict. Fr.om this order an appeal is 
taken, and thus the case comes up for review. 

The appellants claim a reversal of the county superin- 
tendent's decision on thejground : 

1 That the county superintendent had no jurisdiction 
in the matter. 

2. That the county superintendent erred in not taking 
the depositions of witnesses in writing and having the same 
signed and sworn to by the witnesses. 

3. That the county superintendent erred in not mak- 
ing up his record at the time of trial. 

4. On the merits of the case. 

The denial of the county superintendent's jurisdiction 
is based on the fact that the original affidavit does not 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 137 

state that the appeal was taken within thirty days of the 
action of the board complained of, and reference is made 
to page 57 of "explanatory notes," in which it is stated 
that this fact should appear, though there is no such 
specific requirement in " An act to provide for appeals.'' 
The question naturally arises as to the legal force of these" 
" explanatory notes." Have they the effect of statutory 
provisions, or otherwise? While the right of every 
tribunal to establish rules and regulations not inconsistent 
with law, must be admitted, these " explanatory notes" 
made by the superintendent of public instruction are not 
legal enactments, nor " rules and regulations," and so far 
from being mandatory in their character are merely 
advisory and directory, and intended for the assistance 
and guidance of school officers. They are a commentary 
on the school law ; and as they are replete with good 
common sense suororestions, their observance will render 
the administration of the school law more accurate and 
satisfactory, but a non-compliance with them is not 
necessarily a violation of law. 

It must be admitted that an affidavit which does not 
state the date of the decision or act complained of is 
very carelessly drawn and a superintendent might be 
justified in refusing to entertain it ; but if it be enter- 
tained, it is still competent for the opposite party to show 
that the thirty days allowed by law had expired previous 
to the filing of the affidavit, and thus secure the dismissal 
of the case. The law gives the superintendent jurisdic- 
tion within thirty days, and the state superintendent could 
not by any rule or regulation annul the statutory pro- 
visions. It is not even claimed by appellants that the 
time for taking appeal had expired, and the date of 
petitions- submitted to the board indicate that it had not 
expired. In the absence of proof to the contrary, the 



138 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

legal presumption is that the proceedings before the 
county superintendent were entirely regular, and there- 
fore the jurisdiction of the superintendent must be 
sustained. 

The second and third errors assigned by appellants are 
also based 0:1 (t explanatory notes " instead of upon the 
law, and cannot be sustained for reasons previously given. 
While there were things in the management of this case 
from which we must withhold our commendation, as 
there seems to have been a substantial compliance with 
the law, we do not feel justified in dismissing it without 
an examination of its meri's. 

The county superintendent gave due notice of the 
hearing in writing to all the electors of the subdistrict. 
On the day of hearing several persons appeared, but no 
" evidence on either side was offered," except the original 
affidavit of Benjamin Smith. The record of the county 
superintendent goes on to say : " But to satisfy myself 
in regard to the number of inhabitants that would be 
accommodated best by the site remaining where it is at 
present located by said board," Nelson Bly, James Mc- 
Bride, and Henry Baker were sworn. " Nelson Bly 
stated that about thirty families lived in said subdistrict, 
and that only about one-third would be accommodated 
by the site remaining where it is at present located by 
said board. James McBride corroborated the statements 
made by Nelson Bly." After Henry Baker was sworn 
" so much confusion and controversy arose " that it was 
found " almost impossible to preserve order," and tlie* 
superintendent " proceeded to view the different sites." 

Among the papers sent up by the district secretary 
were two petitions to the board, one signed by fifteen 
persons asking that the site should be located " at or near 
the corner of Mr. Brook's field;" the other signed bv 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 139 

twenty-three persons, asking that the site be " established 
as near as practicable in the center of the subdistrict." 

In view of the facts before us we cannot do otherwise 
than sustain the county superintendent, whose decision is 

Affirmed. 
D. FRANKLIN WELLS, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
December 16, 18G7. 

JOSEPH F. EDWARDS et dl V. DISTRICT TOWNSHIP OF WEST 
POIXT. 

Appeal from Lee County. 

1. Appeal. The right of appeal is not limited to cases of per- 
sonal grievances. 

2. Discretionary Acts. The county superintendent having 
only appellate jurisdiction, should not reverse discretionary acts 
of the board, without explicit and clearly stated proof of the 
abuse of such discretion, even though not fully approving their 
action. 

3. Subdistrict Boundaries : Change of. The acts of a board 
of directors changing subdistrict boundaries and locating school- 
houses are so far discretionary that they should be affirmed on 
appeal, unless it is shown that there has been an abuse of discretion. 

September 16, 1867, the board of directors of the dis- 
trict township of West Point, Lee county, transferred one- 
hundred and twenty acres of land belonging to one 
Timothy Allen, from subdistrict number one to subdis- 
trict number three, in the same district township. From 
this alteration of subdistrict boundaries, Joseph F. Ed- 
wards tt ah appealed to the county superintendent, by 
whom the order of the board of directors was reversed, 
From this decision of the county superintendent, Timothy 
Allen appeals to the superintendent of public instruction. 

It is not claimed that the board of directors exceeded 
their powers in changing boundary lines, or in any re- 



140 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

spect violated law. While equality among the several 
subdistricts, in area, population, and taxable property, is 
in some respects desirable, it is not required by law, and 
in fact is impracticable. The claim in the argument of 
appellees that the action of the board was necessarily 
wrong, because it had the effect to increase the inequality 
in some or all of these respects, is not well founded. It 
is an element which should receive proper consideration, 
but it will not always exercise a controlling influence. 

Mr. Nourse, in his argument for appellant, claims that 
" no right of appeal existed in the plaintiffs who took the 
case to the county superintendent;" hence the county 
superintendent was without jurisdiction. He claims that 
to entitle a person to the right of appeal the grievance 
must be of a p rsonal character — one that affects the 
rights or interests of the individual as distinguished from 
the public. In support of this view he refers to the fol- 
lowing decisions by our supreme court : Humphrey v. Ball, 
4 G. Greene, 204; Mi/er< v. Sim t,s, 4 Iowa, 500; McCune 
v. Sivajford, 5 Iowa, 552; Li pencott v. Allan 'er, 23 
Iowa, 536. In all of these cases it is held that there is no 
appeal from the county court or the board of supervisors, 
unless the grievance is of a personal or individual charac- 
ter as distinguished from the public ; and hence by anal- 
ogy it is claimed that there is no appeal from the board 
of school directors unless the grievance is of a like char- 
acter. If the right of appeal in the two cases w r as derived 
from the same statute, the decisions cited above would be 
conclusive. But these decisions are based upon section 
267, Revision of 1880, in which the right of appeal is 
limited to " any matter affecting the rights or interests of 
individuals as distinguished from the public," etc. ; while 
appeals to county superintendents are based on section 
2133, Revision 1860, which provides that, "any person ag- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 141 

grieved by any decision or order of the district board of 
directors in matter of law or fact," may appeal, etc. 

As section 2133 does not limit the right of appeal in 
cases of personal grievance, the decisions cited have no 
application in the case nnder consideration. 

The important point upon which the issue in this case 
must turn remains to be stated. The meeting at which 
the change of subdistrict boundaries was made was 
attended by six of the eight members of the board, and 
after a full discussion of the proposed change and an ex- 
amination of plats of the district, the change was made 
by unanimous vote, and subsequently approved by one of 
the absent members. The remaining subdirector, who 
resides in the subdistrict from which the territory was 
taken, opposes the change. It is not claimed that the 
law was violated in the change, but only that the educa- 
tional interests of the district were impaired. 

The question is not so much one of law as of sound 
judgment and discretion. The change was approved by 
seven of the eight members of the board, who reside in 
different parts of the township, six of whom at least, are 
absolutely without personal interest in the matter. It is 
opposed by one whose pecuniary interests are contingently 
adversely affected. The county superintendent opposes 
his judgment to the judgment of the board. What, in 
such a case, is the duty of the ultimate tribunal? 

The superintendent of public instruction has, as in 
duty bound, an earnest desire to sustain the acts and de- 
cisions of county superintendents. The legal presump- 
tion is always in favor of the correctness of official acts 
and decisions. While the state superintendent applies 
this principle to county superintendents, it is equally in- 
cumbent upon them, to apply it to the decisions or orders 
of district boards of directors. It not unfrequently hap- 



142 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

pens that county superintendents decide appeal cases 
upon their own judgment and discretion as if they had 
original, instead of appellate jurisdiction ; and fail to 
give that consideration to the discretion of district hoards, 
which the above principle recpiires. 

The law prescribing the duties of boards of directors 
is, in some respects, mandatory, requiring that certain 
specified duties shall be performed in a particular manner. 
In other cases, the board acts as a local legislature, and 
its action is discretionary. Among these discretionary 
powers, though not including all of them, are the estab- 
lishment and change of subdistrict boundaries and the 
location of school-houses. It has been doubted by some 
whether an appeal to the county superintendent, from 
acts of the board wholly discretionary, would lie. While 
the right of appeal in such cases is maintained, the real 
character should not be lost sight of ; and the action of 
the board within the limits of the law should not be 
reversed unless it is evident that it acted with passion, 
prejudice, or manifest injustice. It is a general principle 
in law that the exercise of discretionary power will not be 
interfered with unless it is fully apparent that such 
power has been abused. For further remarks on discre- 
tionary power and the manner of proving its abuse, refer- 
ence is made to the case of Dougherty v. Tracy, county 
superintendent. 

In changing subdistrict boundaries, and locating school- 
houses, the law gives the board of directors original juris- 
diction, and as it is discretionary power the action of the 
board should be affirmed on appeal, unless it is fully ap- 
parent by the evidence that the board violated law or 
abused its discretion . If there is a reasonable doubt the 
board is entitled to its benefit. The action of the board 
may not be wholly approved by the judgment of the 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 143 

county superintendent, but if it be not illegal or clearly 
unjust it should be sustained. When, however, county 
superintendents feel called upon to reverse decisions of 
school boards, they should give a clear and explicit state- 
ment of their reasons for so doing, that the superintend- 
ent of public instruction may be the better enabled to 
judge of the soundness of their conclusions. 

These general remarks have been made with a view to 
guide county superintendents in their decisions, as well as 
to indicate -ome of the principles which will be observed 
by the superintendent of public instruction in the adjudi- 
cation of similar cases. 

In the particular case under consideration, the board 
of directors, with unusual unanimity, performed a dis- 
cretionary act. It is not claimed that this act was illegal 
or the board was influenced by improper motives. It is 
not satisfactorily proven that ti:e act was unjust. In our 
opinion, the evidence does not sustain the county superin- 
tendent, in annulling the order of the board, and his 
decision is therefore. 

Reversed. 
D. FRANKLIN WELLS, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

February 15, 1868. 

ELIAS SIPPLE V. DISTRICT TOWNSHIP OF LESTER. 

Ajypeal from Black Hawk County. 

1. Subdistrict Boundaries: Change of . At the hearing of an 
appeal before the county superintendent it is competent for him, 
upon his own motion, to call additional witnesses to give 
testimony. 

2. Evidence: Parol. Cannot be received in the absence of 
allegations of fraud, to contradict or impeach the validity of 
school district records. 

3. Uecord. The board of directors may at any time amend 



144 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

the record of the district, when necessary to correct mistakes or 
supply omissions. And may, upon proper showing, be compelled, 
by mandamus, to make such corrections. 

At the regular meeting of the board of directors of 
the district township of Lester, held September 16, 1867, 
which was attended by four of the seven members of the 
board, motions were made and seconded for the creation 
of two new subdistricts whose boundaries were described 
.n the motions. In regard to the action on these motions, 
the record of the secretary contains merely the word 
fi carried." At a special meeting of the board, held Feb- 
ruary 15, 1868, the action of the board in September in 
relation to the formation of new subdistricts was " recon. 
sidered" and " rescinded." From the February action 
Elias Sipple appealed to the county superintendent. 
During the progress of the hearing, which took place 
March 20, 1868, the county superintendent called upon 
one of the four members of the board that attended the 
September meeting, who testified that he did not vote for 
the motion to create a new subdistrict. As it thus ap- 
peared that the new subdistricts were not established by 
a vote of a majority of all the members of the board, 
as required by law ; and as said September action was re- 
scinded at a full meeting of the board in February, the 
county superintendent, considering the formation of the 
subdistricts illegal and void, dismissed the appeal. From 
this decision Barney Wheeler appeals to the superin- 
tendent of public instruction. 

Appellant alleges substantially that the county super- 
intendent erred as follows: 

1. In himself calling a witness to give testimony. 

2. In receiving testimony to impeach the district 
record, which is claimed to be valid and binding after 
thirty days. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 145 

3. In dismissing the appeal. 

4. In not establishing the subdistricts. 

The law requires the county superintendent to give a 
"just and equitable " decision, and as the calling of addi- 
tional witnesses may sometimes enable him to discharge 
this duty more faithfully, his action in this respect is 
sustained. 

The*second error assigned really includes two distinct 
points, which will be considered separately ; and first, in 
regard to the impeachment of the district record. The 
law provides for an annual meeting of the electors of the 
district jjtownship, and for semi-annual and special meet- 
ings of the board of directors ; also that " the secretary 
shall record all the proceedings of the board and district 
meetings in separate books kept for that purpose." It 
is a general principle of law that " oral evidence cannot 
be substituted for any instrument which the law requires 
to be in writing, such as records, public documents," etc. 

1 Greenleafs Evidence, § S6. " It is a well settled rule 
that, where the law requires the evidence of a transaction 
to be in writing, oral evidence cannot be substituted for 
that, so long as the writing exists and can be produced ; 
and this rule applies as well to the transactions of public 
bodies and officers as. to those of individuals." The people 
v. Zeyst, 23 N..Y., 142. In the case of Taylor v. Henry, 

2 Pick., 397, the supreme court of Massachusetts held 
that an omission in the records of a town rneetino- could 
not be supplied by parol evidence. Chief Justice Shaw, 
in discussing the case, said that it would be " dangerous 
to admit such a proof." Mr. Starkie, in his valuable 
treatise on Evidence, says : " Where written instruments 
are appointed either by the immediate authority of the 
law or by the compact of the parties, to be the permanent 
repositories and testimony of truth, it is a matter both 

lo 



146 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

of principle and of policy to exclude any inferior evidence 
from being used either as a substitute for such instru- 
ments or to contradict or alter them ; of principle, because 
such instruments are, in their own nature and orgin, 
entitled to a much higher degree of credit than that 
which appertains to parol evidence ; of policy, because it 
would be attended with great mischief and inconvenience, 
if those instruments upon which men's rights depend 
were liable to be impeached and controverted by loose 
collateral evidence-" Starkie, part IV, page 995, volume 
III, 3d Am. Ed. 

The reason of the rule upon which the courts agree 
with such entire unanimity applies with force in the case 
now under consideration. The records of the district 
and board meetings contain a statement of the regula- 
tions adopted, and the acts done in the exercise of the 
powers with which the respective bodies are invested by 
the law. They present to all the citizens of the district 
township, in a permanent form, certain and definite in- 
formation which could be obtained, with equal certainty, 
in no other way. Memory is defective, but the secretary 
records the transactions as they occur. The actors change 
from year to year, but the record is permanent. And 
though the admission of oral testimonv to alter a record 
or to supply an omission therein might sometimes promote 
the attainment of justice, the prevalence of such a prac- 
tice would result in more evil than good. It is held, there- 
fore, that in the absence of alleged fraud the county 
superintendent errs in admitting parol evidence to con- 
tradict or impeach the record of the September meeting of 
the board of directors. 

In regard to the other part of the second point a few 
words will suffice. The counsel for appellant urges that 
though the record of the September meeting was imper- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 147 

feet, the lapse of thirty days made the record valid and 
binding upon the district. It is true that the right to 
take an appeal to the county superintendent expires after 
thirty days ; but I am unable to see how the lapse of 
time will validate what was before invalid. The secretary 
is the proper custodian of the records of the school dis- 
trict, and before the record of the proceedings of the 
board of directors has been approved or adopted by the 
board the secretary may amend thern by supplying omis- 
sions, or otherwise correcting them. After they have 
been approved they may be amended and corrected by 
direction of the board, even after the lapse or thirty 
days. In Massachusetts a town clerk is permitted to 
amend the record in order to supply defects, even after a 
suit involving a question respecting them has been com- 
menced. I am of the opinion that if the secretary or 
board of directors decline to make necessary corrections 
in the record, that a party interested may proceed by 
mandamus to compel the correction. If the record is to 
be imp2ached it must be, in the absence of fraud, by a 
direct proceeding instituted for that purpose, and not by 
a collateral or indirect method. The People v. Zeyst, 23 
N. Y., 147-8. 

T e d strict record in thi-s case is not as full as it might 
with propriety be. The law provides that the boundar < s 
of subdistricts s'lall not be changed except by tho vote of 
a majority }oi the members of the board. The record 
fails to show that this requirement of the law w:s com- 
; lied with at the September meeting. The secretary says 
the motion to redistric " carried." This is his opinion, 
but he fails to givj the fact upon which it is based. 
F;;ur of the seven members were present, but he does not 
say who, or how ma 7 voted for the change. Properly 
this should have been stated. When, however, the dis- 



148 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

trict record declares that a motion was " carried," the law 
will presume that it was carried in accordance with the 
requirements of the statute ; though there is reason to 
believe that the presumption in this instance is a violent 
one. It follows that there was no legal evidence that the 
subdistricts were not established in accordance with law ; 
hence, the conclusion is inevitable that; the county super- 
intendent erred in dismissing the appeal for the cause 
assigned. 

At the commencement of the trial and again during 
its progress, the defendant moved the county superin- 
tendent to dismiss the case on account of the insufficiency 
of the affidavit. The affidavit of Mr. Sipple is not as 
full as it is usual to make affidavits in such cases, yet it 
"set forth the errors complained of" with such plainness 
and conciseness as enabled the county superintendent to 
obtain the necessary transcripts, and this is all that the 
law really requires. Kev. 1860, §2135. It has not been 
customary heretofore to enforce any particular form of 
affidavit, and the county superintendent's ruling refusing 
to dismiss on defendant's motion is sustained. 

As the testimony appears not to have been all in when 
the case was dismissed by the county superintendent, no 
opinion can be given in regard to the propriety or neces- 
sity of establishing the proposed new subdistricts. 

The case is, therefore, returned to the county superin- 
tendent, who will proceed with the hearing, first allowing 
a reasonable time for the correction of the district record 
or for the enforcement of its correction, should such 
correction be deemed necessary by either of the interested 
parties. Should the district record be amended so as to 
show conclusively that the said subdistricts were not 
legally formed at the said meeting in September, it will 
follow that the said subdistricts never had a legal exist- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 149 

ence, and that the plaintiff could not be aggrieved by the 
action of the February meeting, hence the county super- 
intendent will determine the case in favor of the appellee. 
Should said record not be amended, or should it be 
amended so as to show clearly that said subdistricts were 
established in all respects in conformity with law, the 
question of establishing the new subdistricts. or more 
properly retaining their organization, will be determined 
upon its merits. 

Reversed. 
D. FRANKLIN WELLS, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
July 23, 1868. 

SYLVESTER GULLET V. DISTRICT TOWNSHIP OF HILTON. 

Appeal from Ioiva County. 

Contracts. The terms of a contract may be changed by 
agreement of the contracting parties. If either party seeks to 
evade or change its terms, without the consent and to the preju- 
dice of the other, the remedy is a suit at law. 

At a meeting of the board of directors held November 
7, 18 72, a resolution was adopted, fixing the rates to be 
paid to teachers upon contracts made by the subdirectors 
for the winter term, at thirty dollars per month for 
teachers holding first-class certificates, and at twenty-eight 
dollars per month for teachers holding second-class certifi- 
cates. It appears that under this order several of the 
subdirectors entere 1 into contracts with teachers. At a 
meeting of the board held December 28, 1872, they re- 
scinded their former action, and adopted an order making 
thirty dollars and thirty-five dollars the respective rates 
to be paid ; from this order appeal was taken to the 
county superintendent, who affirmed the action of the 



150 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

board, and Sylvester Gullet appeals to the superintendent 
of public instruction. 

There is no allegation of prejudice or fraud nor does 
it appear from the transcript that the board were influ- 
enced by any improper motive; the only questions pre- 
sented are : 

First, HlI the board authority to adopt a resolution 
changing the terms of contracts already made? 

If so, Second, Did they, in fixing the rates adopted at 
the meeting last held, exceed their authority, abuse their 
discretionary power, or act with manifest injustice? 

As regards the first question, the board have, through 
the subdirector, exclusive jurisdiction in contracting with 
teachers and determining the prices to be paid ; the orig- 
inal contracting parties have an undoubted right to change 
the terms of a contract by mutual agreement. If either 
party seeks to evade or change its terms, without the con- 
sent and to the prejudice of the other, the remedy is a suit 
at law. In fixing the rates to be paid at thirty dollars 
and thirty-five dollars, it is believed that the board in no 
manner exceeded their authority, abused their discretion- 
ary power, or acted with injustice. The decision of the 
county superintendent is therefore 

Affirmed. 
ALONZO ABERNETHY, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

May 21, 1873. 

J. D. CALDWELL V. STEPHEN PEEBLES, COUNTY SUPERIN- 
TENDENT. 

Appeal from Mills County- 

1. Revocation of Teacher's Certificate. A teacher's certifi- 
cate can be legally revoked only upon proof of charges of which 
he has had personal notice, and against which he has had the 
opportunity to make his defense. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 151 

2. . A person addicted to the use of intoxicating liquors 

who even occasionally becomes intoxicated is not likely to pro- 
mote correct moral teaching in the public schools by his example, 
nor to possess such moral character as to entitle him to a teacher's 
certificate. 

Complaint having been made to the county superin- 
tendent that J. D. Caldwell, a teacher, was ,addicted to 
the use of intoxicating liquors, an examination of the 
charges was made May 10, 1873, as provided by law, the 
result of which was the revocation of Mr. Caldwell's cer- 
tificate. Mr. Caldwell appeals to the superintendent of 
public instruction. 

We need not comment upon the testimony in the trial, 
since the county superintendent admits that the specifica- 
tions contained in the complaint were not sustained. 
Facts, however, were developed incidentally, in the ex- 
amination of witnesses, apart from the direct issues 
involved, to satisfy the county superintendent that the 
defendant does not possess a good moral character, and 
we are not sure but his conclusions are properly deduci- 
ble from the evidence. 

The law, however, providing for the revocaf on of cer- 
tificates, requires that it shall only be "after an investiga- 
tion of facts in the case, of which investigation the 
teacher shall have personal notice, and he shall be per- 
mitted to be present and make his defense." 

In this instance, certain charges were preferred in an 
information, of which the teacher had due notice, and, as 
it appears, successfully defended himself against, the 
charges made, and there rested his case. 

It is, perhaps doubtful if the superintendent has the 
authority to revoke a certificate upon evidence incident- 
ally developed in the trial, however ^damaging in its 
nature, the substance of which was not contained in the 



152 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

original notice, and against which no defense was 
attempted. 

We fully agree with the superintendent that a person 
addicted to the use of intoxicating liquors, who even 
occasionally becomes intoxicated, and who is in the habit 
of visiting disreputable beer saloons, does not possess 
that degree of moral character to entitle him to a teach- 
er's certificate under our statute. We cannot too highly 
commend the efforts of county superintendents to pro- 
mote correct moral teaching in the public schools through 
the example of the ;eacher. 

Disqualifications of this nature should be fully proven, 
and in the manner prescribed by law ; and we reluctantly 
set aside this decision, believing that the superintendent 
was actuated by worthy mo'ives, and did the act olely 
with a view to promote the good of the schools, and in 
the conscientious discharge of a public duty. 

Reversed. 
ALONZO ABERNETHY, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

May 31, 1873. 

SANFORD HARWOOD V. INDEPENDENT DISTRICT OF 
CHARLES CITY. 

Appeal from Floyd County. 

1. Punishment; Right to inflict upon pupils. The right of 
the parent to restrain and coerce obedience in children applies 
equally to the teacher, or to any one who acts in loco parentis. 

2. Rules and Regulations. Boards of directors and their 
agents, the teachers, may establish reasonable rules for the govern- 
ment of schools and the control of pupils. 

3. . The teacher has the right to require a pupil to 

answer questions which tend to elicit facts concerning his conduct 
in school. 

4. . The pupil is answerable for acts which tend to 

produce merriment in the school or to degrade the teacher. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 153 

5. . Open violation of the rules of the school cannot be 

shielded from investigation under the plea that it invades the 
rights of conscience. 

6. Board of Directors. The board should be sustained 
in all legitimate and reasonable measures to maintain order and 
discipline, to uphold the rightful authority of the teacher, and 
to prevent or suppress insubordination in the school. 

This case involves the right of a teacher to require a 
pupil to answer questions concerning his conduct in 
school, or to testify against himself. 

Burritt Harwood, a member of the high school depart- 
ment, having broken certain rules of the school, was 
suspended by the superintendent for refusing to answer 
a question relating thereto. The pupil's father petitioned 
the board of directors to restore the pupil. The board 
having investigated the facts adopted the following : 

"Resolved, That the school board sustain Prof. Shepard 
in his suspension of Burritt Harwood, provided, Burritt 
Harwood be reinstated if he answer the question, for the 
refusal to answer which he was suspended, subject to 
such further action as may be taken by the principal or 
school board for making and circulating the caricature." 
The president and four other members voting for, and one 
against the resolution. From this action of the board, S. 
Harwood appealed to the county superintendent, who 
reversed their action. The board, through their president, 
appeal to the superintendent of public instruction. 

The power of the parent to restrain and coerce obedience 
in children cannot be doubtecl, and it has seldom or never 
been denied. This principle applies equally to the teacher 
or to any one who acts in loco parentis. Boards of direct- 
ors and their agents, the teachers, may establish all 
reasonable and proper rules for the government of schools^ 
and to control the conduct of pupils attending the same. 
"Any rule of the school not subversive of the rights of 



154 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

the children or parents, or in conflict with humanity and 
the precepts of divine law, which tends to advance the 
object of the law in establishing public schools, must be 
considered reasonable and proper." Burdick v. Babcock, 
31 Iowa, 562. 

The superintendent had occasion to leave the high 
school in charge of his assistant while he should attend to 
official duties elsewhere. On his return about 4. p. m., 
the assistant reported that there had been much disorder 
on the part of some of the pupils, and that she had 
required several of the pupils to remain and report their 
misdemeanors to the superintendent. Burritt Harwood 
being called upon, said, in substance, I have two misde- 
meanors to report : I threw snow into the lower hall dur- 
ing recess, and I passed a piece of paper across the aisle 
to my brother's desk. Both are recognized as violations 
of the rules of the school. The nature and magnitude 
of the first are readily discernible and need no further 
investigation ; not so of the second, much depends upon 
the character of the " piece of paper " whether simply 
blank paper, or containing writing or other marks ; being- 
asked to state the nature of the paper, he at first answered 
evasively. Being further questioned, he replied that it 
was '* pictorial" ; that it was a " burlesque or caricature," 
that "it represented the school-house and some person 
or persons," that "the person or persons represented were 
connected with the school." The further question " whom 
he had intended to burlesque," after some hesitation, he 
declined to answer. For this act of disobedience he was 
suspended. 

The question which he refused to answer appears to 
differ in no essential feature from those previously 
answered. By it the teacher simply sought to discover 
an additional fact in connection with the case. If he had 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 155 

a right to ask the former he had the latter. If there is 
any reason why the pupil had the right or should claim 
the privilege of declining to answer the last, he should 
have stated it. Certainly no good reason appears from 
the nature of the offense, and the degree of punishment 
which it merited depended upon the information which 
the teacher sought to obtain by this and the previous 
question. If the paper contained simply the solution of 
a problem or something connected with his lesson, it 
merited one degree of punishment ; if its purpose was to 
create merriment among the pupils, thus diverting their 
attention from their studies, it required another degree ; 
if, by it, the pupil sought to bring ridicule upon a teacher, 
to the prejudice of the good order and government of 
the school, still another : each would be a violation of 
rules, but not each equally punishable. The claim of 
appellee that it was an attempt to pry into the secrets of 
the heart, and was a violation of the right of conscience, 
is scarcely sustained by the facts. The question " whom 
did you intend to represent," is essentially equivalent to 
" whom did you represent." Its purpose evidently was 
not to find out the thought or intent, but the act of the 
pupil. The question was simply, what was the character 
of the picture drawn and circulated to the disturbance of 
the school. It does not appear how the rights of con- 
science would be violated in answering the question. It 
may be true that the picture itself if produced, would 
furnish the best evidence, but the teacher clearly had the 
right, in its absence, and knowing nothing of its nature 
beyond what the pupil had already revealed, to seek this 
information directly and immediately by pro, er questions. 
Nor can the pupil shield himself under the provision of the 
law that a prisoner at the bar cannot be compelled to 
answer questions which will tend to render him criminally 



156 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

liable or expose him to public ignominy. He is, in no 
proper sense accused of crime before a court of law, author- 
ized to sit in judgment under a criminal code. 

The picture, which was afterwards produced, reveals 
anything but a right spirit in the pupil. Probably no one 
who has seen it doubts that it is a coarse caricature of the 
superintendent and his assistant. His refusal to answer 
was evidently not that he could not conscientiously do so, 
nor that it would tend to criminate himself, but was a 
deliberate act of insubordination. All the attendant cir- 
cumstances, the evasive and studied replies to the super- 
intendent's questions, the caricature itself, and its circula- 
tion through the school during the absence of the super- 
intendent, together with a previous malicious caricature 
of the same nature, all reveal a disregard for the regula- 
tions of the school, the respectful conduct due from a pupil 
and an animus toward the teacher anything but proper. 

In our opinion unnecessary stress was laid, in the trial 
before the superintendent, upon the technical ground cf 
suspension by the superintendent. The board having 
had the whole subject under investigation, including 
statements of the offenses from both the superintendent 
and the pupil, sustained the superintendent, or in other 
words, suspended the pupil conditionally from the school, 
as they probably had a right to do for any one of the 
offenses named. This being a discretionary act, due 
weight must be given to such action by an appellate tri- 
bunal, especially should the board be sustained in all 
legitimate and reasonable measures to maintain order and 
discipline, to uphold the rightful authority of the teacher, 
and to prevent or suppress insubordination in the school. 

Reversed. ALONZO ABERNETH1 , 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

June 8, 1874. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 157 

JOHN S. DAVID V. INDEPENDENT DISTRICT OF BURLING- 
TON. 

Appeal from Des Moines County. 

1. School. Every person between the ages of five and twenty- 
one years has the right to attend school in the district in which 
he resides, regardless of considerations relating to race, national- 
ity, the holding of property, or the payment of taxes. 

2. . The payment of school taxes does not entitle non- 
residents to school privileges. 

3. — . The board have authority to determine when, and 

upon what terms, non-resident pupils may attend the schools of 
their district. 

This appeal is brought to compel the board of directors 
of the independent district of Burlington to admit] into 
the public schools of said district appellant's children, 
without payment of tuition, on the ground that he is a 
large tax-payer in the district ; the county superintendent 
having affirmed the action of the board in refusing to 
admit them. 

The appellant resides about a mile beyond the limits 
of the independent district of Burlington, and near the 
school in his own district ; but he claims that this school 
is not of suitable grade for his children. 

The law requires the board of directors to provide 
school facilities for all the children in their own district, 
and contemplates that they shall, in all cases, determine 
whether children who are not residents, shall be permitted 
to attend the schools thereof, and upon what terms Sec- 
tion 1793. 

It is claimed by the appellant that his children are en- 
titled to attend school in the independent district of Bur- 
lington without the payment of tuition, for the reason 
that he owns property in said independent district, and 
pays taxes thereon ; and if the payment of taxes could 



158 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

ever entitle a person to such privileges, it doubtless would 
in this case, as he introduces the certificate of the county 
auditor to show that his school taxes for 1874 were 
$406.08. There is, however, no provision of law upon 
which to base such claim ; nor would such provision well 
accord with the spirit of our laws relating to public 
schools. These laws are founded upon the broad princi- 
ple that every person in the state between the ages of five 
and twenty -one years, is entitled to the privilege of at- 
tending the public schools. 

This principle is wholly unencumbered by any consid- 
erations relating to race, nationality, the holding of 
property, or the payment of taxes. 

To prevent confusion and the over-crowding of particu- 
lar schools, it is necessary to point out what school each 
pupil has the right to attend. A more equitable rule 
could not have been devised, than that which prescribes 
that the pupil may attend school in the district in which 
he resides. The simplicity and equity of this rule are 
apparent. Every person has one place of residence, and 
no more ; the place of residence is generally determined 
without difficulty, and is not usually abandoned for trivial 
causes. 

To introduce any conditions into the laws dependent 
upon property considerations, would be to outrage the 
fundamental principles of our free school system. 

To further promote the convenience of the people, and 
to give elasticity to the rule, the board of directors may, 
when circumstances require, permit non-resident pupils to 
attend the schools of their district. 

Affirmed. 
ALONZO ABERNETHY. 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

February 20, 1875. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 159 

MARY M. THOMPSON V. DISTRICT TOWNSHIP OF JASPER. 

Appeal from Adams County. 

1. Teacher. When a teacher is dismissed, in violation of his 
contract, an action in the courts of law, on the contract, will 
afford him a speedy and adequate remedy ; when discharged for 
incompetency, dereliction of duty, or other cause affecting his 
qualifications as a teacher, he has the right of appeal. 

2. . The teacher is entitled to the counsel and co-opera- 
tion of the subcMivctor and board in all matters pertaining to the 
conduct and welfare of the school. 

The board of directors discharged Miss Mary M. 
Thompson for dereliction of duty as a teacher in one of 
the public schools of the district. She appealed to the 
county superintendent, who reversed their decision; from 
this ac ion, the board, through their president, John 
McDevon, appealed to the superintendent of public in- 
struction. 

At the hearing before the county superintendent, he 
board filed a motion to dismiss the case, for want of 
jurisdiction, insisting that the teacher, having beeu dis- 
missed in accordance with the provisions of section 1734, 
Code, her proper remedy was an action at law for 
damages. 

When a teacher is dismissed, in violation of his con- 
tract, an action in the courts of law, on the contract, will 
afford him a speedy and adequate remedy ; when dis- 
charged for incompetency, derelection of duty, or other 
cause affecting his qualifications as a teacher, he has the 
right of appeal to the county superintendent, who is the 
proper officer to review questions of this character, and 
to determine whether the board have in the exercise of 
their authority violated the law or abused their discre- 
tionary power. Questions concerning the validity of 
contracts, the right to recover for services performed, and 



160 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

the interpretation of law, belong especially to judicial 
tribunals. Questions concerning the character and qual- 
ifications of the teacher, and his management of the 
school, are, by appeal, within the jurisdiction of the 
county superintendent. 

The motion to dismiss was properly overruled 
The charges of dereliction were, want of promptness 
in commencing school in the morning, and an occasional 
refusal to hear the recitation of one or* more of her 
pupils. For this dereliction there appear to have been 
some extenuating circumstances. Under the contract, it 
was the subdirector's duty to have the fires built. The 
boy employed to do this work often failed to have the 
school-house in comfortable condition at nine o'clock ; 
the teacher usually made up lost time by teaching after 
four o'clock, and there is no evidence that the subdirector 
or board ever advised her with regard to the performance 
of her duties. The board convened at the school-house 
without previous notice to the teacher, and after taking 
the testimony of some of her pupils, unanimously voted 

to discharge her. 

Affirmed. 
ALONZO ABERNETHY, 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
May 8, 1876. 

M. M. CROOKSHANK V. DISTRICT TOWNSHIP OF MAINE. 

Appeal from Linn County. 

1. Appeal: When an adequate remedy. From th?. exercise 
of ordinary discretion in the performance of an official duty, en- 
joined by law upon the board, appeal may be taken to the county 
superintendent; but from a refusal to act, or from an action 
thereon clearly designed to defeat the purpose of the law, an ap- 
plication to the courts of law to compel the performance of the 
enjoined duty will afford the most speedy, and in some cases the 
only, adequate remedy. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 161 

2. Independent Districts : Formation of. The opportunity 
to vote upon the question of forming independent districts from 
the subdistricts of a district township ceased July 4, 1876, by the 
taking effect of chapter 155, laws of 1876. 

A petition purporting to be signed by one-third of the 
legal voters of the district township of Maine was pre- 
sented to the board March 20, 1876, asking that a meet- 
ing of the electors be called to vote upon the question of 
independent organizations. 

The board ordered that the meeting be held on the day 
for the next presidential election. On appeal this action 
was reversed as not being in compliance with the law, 
and designed to defeat the purpose for which it was in- 
tended, and the board was ordered to call the meeting in 
time to permit the formation of independent districts if so 
determined by vote of the electors. H. 0. Bishop appeals 
to the superintendent of public instruction. 

The action of the board in deferring the vote to deter- 
mine the question of independent district organizations 
until the November election, was evidently fcr the pur- 
pose of defeating th measure, since by the provisions of 
section 1804, Code, the organization of such independent 
districts shall be completed on or before the first day of 
August of the year in which said organization is 
attempted. 

From the exercise of ordinary discretion in the per- 
formance of an official duty enjoined by law upon the 
board appeal may be taken to the county superintendent ; 
but from a refusal to act or from an action thereon 
clearly desig ed to defeat the purpose of the law, an ap- 
plication to the courts of law to compel the performance 
of the enjoined duty will afford the most speedy and in 
some cases the only adequate remedy. 

The examination of the issues involved in the case can 
ii 



162 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

be of no avail since the opportunity to vote upon the 
question of independent district organizations no longer 
exists, the law authorizing the formation of such districts 
having been repealed to take effect July 4, 1876. Chap- 
ter 155, laws of the sixteenth general assembly. 

The decision of the county superintendent is, therefore, 
reversed and the case dismissed. 

Reversed. 
ALONZO ABERNBTHY, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
July 31, 1876. 

W. C. MCNEAL V. J. W. CARY, COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT. 

Appeal from Appanoose County. 

1. Revocation of Certificate : Effect of. Conditions made in 
the revocation of a certificate must be within the jurisdiction of 
the county superintendent, and must apply to the whole county. 

2. New Trial. A new trial for the revocation of a certificate 
must be proceeded with as if no trial had been held. 

In this case charges of immorality were preferred against 
the appellant. The county superintendent, after a legal 
investigation, ordered as follows : 

" That W. C. McNeal has acted imprudently, unwisely, 
and in excitement, immorally ; that he shall cease to teach 
in said district, (district number six, Walnut township) ; 
that in compliance with the above his certificate is not 
revoked." "Otherwise, otherwise." 

On the 20th of January, having learned that the 
appellant had not ceased teaching, this additional order 
was made by the county superintendent : 

" Whereas, upon due notice of the above decision, W. 
C. McNeal has not ceased to teach in the school district 
specified, now, therefore, in pursuance of the provisions 
of section 1771, of the school law of the state of Iowa 
the said certificate is hereby revoked." 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 163 

From this action of the county superintendent, Mr. 
McNeal appeals to the superintendent of public in- 
struction. 

While the power of the county superintendent to 
revoke a certificate is undoubted, the exercise of this 
power must be in strict accordance with the provisions 
of law. 

A revocation may be based upon general conditions, 
especially where the moral character of the party is in 
question ; but the effect of those conditions must be 
co-extensive with the county wherein such certificate is 
given, and must be within the jurisdiction of the county 
superintendent. 

The conditional revocation of the 12th of January was 
based upon a condition not within the jurisdiction of the 
county superintendent, and only local in its application- 

The power to remove a teacher from his position is 
vested in the board of directors, under section 1734. 
Hence the additional order of January 20, which was 
based upon the same condition, is not legal. 

To test the merits of the case, and to give the county 
superintendent an opportunity for remedying the defect 
of his first order, the case is remanded before him for a 
rehearing, and the former decision, because not in con- 
formity with the provisions of law, is 

Eeversed. 
C. W. von COELLN, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

March 20, 1877. 

WM. DONALD V. DISTRICT TOWNSHIP OF SOUTH FORK. 

Appeal from Wayne County. 

1*. Salary of Teachers. The salary of teachers should be in 
proportion to their ability and responsibility, and not equal when 
these circumstances differ materially : 



164 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

2. Control of Salaries. The control of salaries is wholly 
within the power of the board and cannot be determined by an 
appeal, because it is not within the jurisdiction of county or state 
superintendent to order the payment of money. 

On the 18th day of March, 1878, the board of directors 
of the district township of South Fork made an order fix- 
ing the salaries of teachers in the township for the sum- 
mer schools at the uniform price of twenty dollars per 
month. From this action Wm, Donald appealed to the 
county superintendent, who affirmed the ach'on of the 
board. From his decision Win. Donald appeals to the 
superintendent of public instruction. 

It is alleged by the appellant that the county superin- 
tendent erred in deciding that the board did not violate 
law in voting that the same amount of salary should be 
paid to the teacher in each subdistrict. It is claimed that 
the board should have provided for a higher salary in 
some schools of the township. 

The difficulty with appellant's counsel is that he believes 
the note to be a part of the law. 

My predecessor gave his own views of the employment 
of teachers and I most fully agree with him in his view. 
The law leaves the whole matter to the directors and 
presumes that they will deal equitably. 

Unfortunately, selfishness is a nearly universal charac- 
teristic of human kind, and too often the majority, repre- 
senting weak districts, weak both in numbers and in 
property, demands an equal distribution of the money on 
hand for teachers' pay. 

The law organizing the rural independent districts, 
passed in 1872, arose from the feeling that this selfishness 
was working injustice to little towns and wealthy and 
populous subdistricts. The creation of these independent 
districts works an injustice to the weaker districts, for it 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 16o 

is proper and desirable that the wealthier districts should 
aid their v eaker neighbors to sustain fair schools. 

With regard to this case, we do not see wherein the 
board violated law. The idea of prejudice is slightly ap- 
parent from the testimony, but not sufficiently to reverse 
the action of the board. 

That equity has not been observed seems very evident, 
for it must be presumed that a larger school population 
requires a better teacher ; and if a better and more ex. 
perienced teacher is needed, a better salary ought to be 
paid. 

There are other considerations. Generally the expense 
of living is greater in the town than in the country ; the 
probability is that a larger tax is pail by the town than 
by the country. 

We are not able at this distance to determine whether 
twenty dollars is a sufficient compensation or the teacher 
of subdistrict number four of South Fork ; but if twenty 
dollars is only sufficient compensation for the country 
subdistricts, it is our belief that a higher compensation 
should be given for the teacher in the town. 

It is out of our jurisdiction to give advice to the board 
of directors, what to do in this case, after determining 
that we have ;;0 power to reverse their action ; but we 
suggest that equity would be served if they should pay 
the five dollars per month assumed by Mr. Anderson. 

After giving our views thus in full, we must agree with 
the county superintendent, and therefore the decision of 
the county superintendent is 

Affirmed. 
C. W. von COELLN, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

June 29, 1878. 



166 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

JOSEPH HEATON VS. I. W. GARD. 

Appeal from Ringgold County. 

Evidence. In the trial for revocation of certificate testimony 
may be introduced to establish the general character and disposi- 
tion of the teacher. 

Joseph Heaton prefers charges before the county 
superintendent of Ringgold county against I. W. Gard, a 
teacher employed in one of the schools of said county. 
The object of said charges was the revocation of a certifi- 
cate granted by said county superintendent to said Gard. 

W. J. Work, county superintendent of said county, 
after due examination and trial revoked the certificate, 
and I. W. Gard brings an appeal to the superintendent of 
public instruction. 

The evidence shows that under provocation Gard struck 
the son of Mr. Heaton, the plaintiff, with a large hickory 
rod, in such a manner as to lame him. There is also 
introduced in evidence the record of dismission of said 
Gard from a school in Union county for unbecoming- 
conduct, showing a tendency to great violence and the 
attempted use of dangerous weapons. 

This evidence was objected to, but the objection was 
overruled. We think the county superintendent properly 
admitted the evidence, since the law says (section 17 ?1) 
that a county superintendent may revoke a certificate for 
the same reasons for which he would have withheld the 
same. 

If the county superintendent had been in possession 
of said records when the examination of Mr. Gard took 
place he properly might have withheld the certificate, 
because he might have feared that Mr. Gard was not a 
proper person to administer discipline. That the manner 
of administering discipline in the case under considera- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 167 

tion was unwarranted is clearly shown, unless we admit 
the unproven statement that the scholar attempted to 
use a knife. 

We cannot discover any unfairness, much less a show- 
ing of malice or prejudice, on the part of the county 
superintendent in giving his decision, and therefore his 

decision is hereby 

Affirmed. 

C. W. von COELLN, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
April 22, 1879. 

VAN VLEET & WHETSTONE VS. M. H. FRAME. 

Appeal from Lee County. 

1. Evidence. Must be conclusive to warrant the revocation 
of a certificate, upon charges made against the moral character of 
a teacher. 

2. Evidence. In relation to improprieties said to have been 
committed several years previous to the trial before superintend- 
ent, is entitled to little or no consideration. 

3. Charges. Must be fully and clearly sustained. 

On the 24th of December, 1880, a petition was pre- 
sented to the county superintendent of the above named 
county by Mr. Van Vleet and Mr. Whetstone, asking said 
superintendent to revoke the certificate of Mr. Frame, a 
teacher in said county. 

On trial the county superintendent refused to revoke 
certificate of Mr. Frame, and the petitioners appealed to 
the superintendent of public instruction, who, on the 
trial of the case remanded the case for a new trial, in 
order that certain testimony ruled out on the former trial 
might be admitted. 

After several postponements the case was heard on the 
2d of November, and on the 7th of November the county 
superintendent rendered his decision revoking the certifi- 



168 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

cate of Mr. Frame, on the ground that he did not possess 
a good moral character. From this decision Mr. Frame 
appeals to the superintendent of public instruction. 
The petitioners charge : 

1. That Mr. Frame does not possess a good moral 
character. 

2. That he does not possess the essential qualifications 
for governing and instructing youth. 

3. That he. has been guilty of gross immorality and 
undue familiarity with children under his charge. 

4 That he has shown partiality, and has neglected 
properly to teach the branches required. 

The first charge is quite general in its application, and 
whether or not it has been sustained can be determined 
only by a careful consideration of all the testimony in 
the case. The petitioners evidently relied upon this 
charge and the other charges were designed to strengthen 
the case. 

By an examination of the testimony relating to the 
other charges we shall be better able to determine whether 
the county superintendent erred in revoking Mr. Frame's 
certificate upon the ground that the charge of a lack of 
moral character was sustained. 

Relating to the charge of incompetency there is no evi- 
dence going to show that Mr. Frame is lacking in schol- 
arship, or ability to govern and instruct his pupils in an 
efficient and proper manner, except the testimony of 
some witnesses which relates rather to the charge of 
partiality. On the contrary there is a large amount of 
evidence going to show that Mr. Frame is a good and 
successful teacher. 

The next charge will be considered under two divisions 
— first, gross immorality and second, undue familiarity 
with children under his charge. As sustaining the first, 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 169 

the testimony of Amelia Hancock was offered. It is 
shown that the facts testified to by this witness occurred 
between three and four years ago. 

Such evidence is entitled to little weight, since it is 
the presumption of law that within the time intervening 
a reformation may have occurred. 

In regard to the second part of this charge, the testi- 
mony is somewhat conflicting ; but the evidence sustaining 
such charge was confined to the testimony of young 
children, as opposed to the testimony of several persons of 
maturer years. 

The last charge is that of partiality, and a neglect to 
teach properly the branches required. In our judgment 
this charge was not sustained, and since the county superin- 
tendent did not base his decision upon this charge, we 
deem it unnecessary to review the testimony relating to it. 

It appears from the testimony, that Mr. Frame has at 
times lost sight of that dignity and bearing which should 
characterize a man in his position ; that he mav have 
erred in permitting his pupils to engage in amusements 
— which, to say the least, were not calculated to elevate 
or improve them. But after a careful and somewhat 
protracted study of all conflicting testimony in the case, 
it does not appear that he is of immoral character. 

While we do not believe that prejudice, or intentional 
abuse of discretion on the part of the county superin- 
tendent, entered into his final decision, we are compelled 
to hold that the evidence does not sustain him in revok- 
ing the certificate, and his decision is therefore 

Reversed. 
J. W. AKEKS, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Des Moines, Iowa, January 20th, 1882. 



170 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

MARY E. POTTER VS. A. H. STERRETT, COUNTY SUPERIN- 
TENDENT. 

Appeal from Tama County. 

Evidence. Having any bearing upon the case, even though 
remote, should be admitted on trial before the county superin- 
tendent for the revocation of a teacher's certificate. 

On the 15th of September, 1881, the county superin- 
tendent refused a certificate to Miss Potter, on the ground 
that said county superintendent was not satisfied that the 
applicant possessed the essential qualifications for govern- 
ing and instructing children and youth. 

On the first day of October, Miss Potter applied to the 
county superintendent for a re-hearing ; such re-hearing 
was held on the 4th of November and not being com- 
pleted at that time the hearing was continued to the 8th 
of November. 

On the 7th of November the county superintendent 
made out and mailed to Miss Potter a certificate of the 
usual form, except that the words " aptness to teach and 
ability to govern " were stricken out. 

This certificate was refused and returned to the county 
superintendent. On the further hearing of the case the 
county superintendent on the 8th of November re-affirmed 
his former decision of September 15th, refused Miss 
Potter a certificate and dismissed the case. 

From this decision Miss Potter appeals to the superin- 
tendent of public instruction. 

It is urged by appellant in her affidavit, that the 
county superintendent closed the hearing of the case on 
the 8th of November, without affording appellant's 
counsel the opportunity asked for by them to offer testi- 
mony showing prejudice on the part of the county super- 
intendent against the appellant. We find evidence of the 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 171 

fact that testimony offered was excluded in the transcript 
and we regard it very unfortunate that the county super- 
intendent did not allow all testimony offered to be 
received. 

Any testimony he believed to be incompetent might 
have been ruled out by him, and exceptions taken by 
counsel to his rulings, the testimony in question would 
then become a part of the transcript of the case, and this 
tribunal could decide whether the county superintendent 
erred in ruling it out. 

Our oaly course under the circumstances is to remand 
the case to the county superintendent with instructions to 
rehear the case for the purpose of allowing the testimony 
offered at the former trial to be introduced. 

Reversed and Remanded. 
J. W. AKERS, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Des Moines, Iowa, January 25, 1882. 

HIRAM BLAKE V. DISTRICT TOWNSHIP OF MASSENA. 

Appeal from Cass County. 
• 

1. School Privileges. Residence of the child determines. 

2. . All persons under the age of tw-enty-one years, 

entitled to attend school, whether married or single. 

3. County Superintendent. Must try the case upon the basis 
of facts as they existed at the time the board took action. 

4. Taxes. A tax voted by the electors for the building of a 
school-house must be so expended by the board. 

On the 23d day of September, 1882, at an adjourned 
meeting of the board of directors of said district town- 
ship, an order was made refusing to re-district the said 
township in accordance with the request and desire of 
some of the electors. 

From this order of the board Hiram Blake appealed 



172 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

to the county superintendent, who reversed the action of 
the board and created a new subdistrict composed of sec. 
tious 15, 16, 21 and 22. W. H Kreamer, president of 
the board appeals to the superintendent of public 
instruction. 

By agreement of all parties no written argument ac- 
companies the transcript of proceedings before the county 
superintendent. 

Appellant assigns error on the part of the county 
superintendent as follows : 

1. That in the determination of said proceeding, adverse 
to said board of directors, the county superintendent 
erred in ordering the creation of a new subdistrict. 

2. That said superintendent erred in creating a sub- 
district for less than fifteen pupils. 

3-4. That he erred in admitting as resident pupils of 
the district prayed for, certain pupils residing temporarily 
therein, at the time of action taken by the board, but who 
were not in the proposed subdistrict at the time of hearing 
before the county superintendent. 

5. That said county superintendent erred in admit- 
ting the names of persons under twenty-one years of age ; 
but who were married and were mothers of families. 

6. That the county superintendent erred in determin. 
ing from the whole testimony that a new district was 
necessary. 

— 1. The first assignment is identical with the last, and 
will be noticed in conclusion. 

— 2. Was the new district created for the accommoda- 
tion of less than fifteen pupils? 

Appellant admits in his fourth assignment that the re- 
quired number of pupils were residing in the proposed 
new district at the time of action taken by the board ; 
but says that some of them were residing temporarily in 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 173 

the district, whose parents reside out of the territory in ques- 
tion. The pupils whose residence is disputed, were young 
men working by the month for resident free-holders of the 
district. Were they properly enumerated asresident'pupils? 

The law specifies that the residence of the child, or 
youth, governs and not that of his parents. 

If young men leave their homes to work for others the 
time for which they may remain is often indeterminable, 
and in many cases they remain through the winters to 
attend school. The law is to be constructed in their in- 
terests, and it has always been held that they may attend 
school in the district where they are for the time living 
and working — free of tuition. 

Such children and youth, are as a rule, and there are 
probably few exceptions, enumerated as residents of the 
districts in which they are for the time being employed, 
and such district receives on account of them an in- 
creased share of the semi-annual apportionment. This 
clearly establishes their residence. 

3-4. These points have been answered in the forego- 
ing remarks. 

5. The law provides that persons between the ages of 
five and twenty-one, shall be enumerated as of lawful 
school age, and are therefore entitled to attend school if 
they desire. No distinction is made between the married 
or unmarried. In the present instance the married per- 
son under twenty-one years of age was properly enumer- 
ated. It is therefore held that at the time of action by 
the board the proposed new district had the required 
number of resident pupils. 

This being the case what bearing should the fact, that, 
at the time of hearing before the county superintendent 
there was less than the required number of pupils, in the 
proposed district, have upon his decision. 



174 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

"We think none at all. He is to determine — not, what 
should be done now — but what should the board have 
done in view of the facts existing at the time of action 
complained of. 

6. Did the county superintendent commit error in 
establishing the new district? The center of the new 
district is also the center of the district township. At 
their regular meeting in March, 1881, the electors voted 
a tax of $700 upon the district township, to build a new 
school-house at or near the center of the township. 

This money was subsequently divided up and trans- 
ferred to the contingent and teachers' fund, by the said 
board of directors. 

We have seldom met with a more flagrant violation of 
the plain provisions of law on the part of a district town- 
ship board. Section 1723 and Note "A," school-laws of 
1880, provides that a tax voted by the electors for the 
purpose of building a school-house must be so used, and it 
is the imperative duty of the board to proceed at once to 
carry out by contract, the expressed will of the people. 

It appears from this action of the people that a school 
was needed at this point, and inasmuch as the order of 
the county superintendent secures what the board failed 
to provide, a central school, it is highly probable that the 
new district is consistent with the wishes and interests of 
the people. 

It is therefore held that in refusing to create the new 
district the board- erred and the decision of the county 
superintendent is therefore 

Affirmed. 
J. W. AKERS, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Des Moines, Iowa, March 21, 1883. 



PART IV. 

DIGEST OF ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S 
OPINIONS. 



CHANGE OF BOUNDARIES, OR DIVISION OF TOWNSHIP 
INTO SUBDISTRICTS. 

1. Changes must be made at special meeting, called for that 
purpose by a written notice, served on or sent to each member. 

2. A division made by full board without such notice would be 
erroneous, but still not void, and can be corrected afterward. 

3. A subdirector elected for such subdistrict would be a legally 
appointed officer. — Bissell, May 16, 1866. 

MANDAMUS, APPEAL, TAX. 

1. A board of directors neglecting or refusing to perform a 
duty required by law may be compelled thereto by mandamus — 
not by appeal to county superintendent. 

2. When the board act, but act erroneously, an appeal to the 
county superintendent is the proper remedy. 

3. A tax levied before the division of a district by such division 
becomes void. — Bissell, July 19, 1866. 

REFUSING A TEACHER'S CERTIFICATE. 

1. Appeal may be taken from the act of a county superintend- 
ent refusing or revoking a teacher's certificate. 

2. The county superintendent should be sustained by the 
superintendent of public instruction, except in clear cases of 
passion, prejudice, or violation of duty. — Bissell, March 16, 
1867. 

REDISTRICTING APPEAL. 

1. An appeal may be taken from the act of a board refusing to 
redistrict a township. 

2. On such appeal the county superintendent can redistrict. 

175 



176 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

CENSUS OF CHILDREN AT ORPHANS' HOME. 
Children at the Orphans' Home should, for school purposes, 
be enumerated in the district in which they reside at the time. — 
O'Connor, July 27, 1867. 

TEACHERS' CERTIFICATES. 

The endorsement in one county of a teacher's certificate 
issued in another county is not a compliance with the law. 

There should be another examination. — O'Connor, July 29, 
1867. 
DISTRICT AFFECTED BY TRANSFER OF TERRITORY. 

The district affected or referred to in Section 1797 ^School Law, 
1866) is the district from which territory and school population 
are taken, and whose board must give their consent The other 
is not affected in any sense contemplated by law. — O'Connor, 
.November 15, 1867. 

SCHOOL FUND. 
The law does not authorize the loaning of the permanent school 
fund to school districts, nor could such district give the required 
legal security.— O'Connor, December 16, 1867. 

RIGHT OF AN ALIEN TO HOLD THE OFFICE OF COUNTY 

SUPERINTENDENT, AND RECEIVE PAY THEREFOR. 

An alien can not hold the office of county superintendent, or 
any other office for which he is not qualified to vote. 

Having served in the office, he may reeeive from the supervisors 
pay as a gratuity, but cannot demand it as a right. 

The board of supervisors in such case should declare the office 
vacant, and elect a successor. — O'Connor, February 28, 1868. 

NEITHER THE ELECTORS NOR THE BOARD OF A 

DISTRICT TOWNSHIP CAN ISSUE EVIDENCE G*? 

INDEBTEDNESS. 

There is no law authorizing either the electors or board of a 

district township to issue bonds for any purpose, or to fix rate of 

interest. 

For debts or liabilities incurred, the president may draw an 
order for the amount, to be countersigned by the secretary, 
which, if not paid on presentation, will thereafter draw interest 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 177 

at six per cent. If bonds are issued they are not legal, and are 
not binding, except to make the person or agent drawing them 
personally liable. 

Boards can only draw orders for debts already contracted. — 
O'Connor, March 18, 1868. 

USE OF THE LORD'S PRAYER IN SCHOOL. 
Boards have no power to direct or prohibit the Lord's Prayer 
in school. Teachers may, on their own motion, repeat the Lord's 
Prayer; but, while they can enjoin silence, thny can not compel 
pupils to bow their heads, much less can they expel pupils for 
not complying with such rule. — O'Connor, April, 1868. 

POWER OF BOARDS IN TAXES. 
Boards of directors having failed to levy a tax at their first regu- 
lar meeting, cannot do so during the year at any subsequent meet- 
ing, and a tax so levied would be illegal. O'Connor, May 6, 1869. 

USE OF SCHOOL-HOUSES FOR RELIGIOUS AND SCIEN- 
TIFIC PURPOSES. 
The board of directors have no right to allow the use of the 
school-house when it will interfere with the school, but they may 
at such other times allow its use for religions services, scientific 
lectures, or for matters of a public nature. The electors also may 
authorize the board so to do. — O'Connor, June 18. 1869. 

SCHOOL-HOUSE SITE. 
When a board have established a school-house site and on ap- 
peal the county superintendent has selected a different site, and 
his act is sustained Dy the superintendent of public instruction, 
the board can not act again to change said site until it has been 
tried, or the population or other circumstances have materially 
changed.— O'Connor, July 28, 1869. 

FORMATION OF DISTRICT TOWNSHIPS. 

The fact that the township trustees were not promptly called 
together will not invalidate the establishment of the district, if it 
had a de facto existence. 

Although an order fixing the boundaries was not issued the 
electors having agreed on boundaries and the district maintained 
on these boundaries establishes said district. — O'Connor, May 23, 
1870. 

12 



178 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

ADJUSTMENT OF BOUNDARIES. 

This subject lies almost exclusively in the educational depart- 
ment. 

The action of the board is final unless an appeal is taken to the 
county superintendent, whose decision is final unless an appeal is 
taken to the superintendent of public instruction whose decision 
is final. 

An appeal to the county superintendent or superintendent of 
public instruction stays action until the decision is rendered. 

Changes made in boundaries take effect at next annual meeting 
in March. —O'Connor, March 7, 1871. 

FULFILLMENT OF CONTRACT. 

The board of directors is legally the same though composed of 
new members. 

A teacher possessing the legal qualifications can collect pay 
under contract if the board refuse him permission to teach. — 
O'Connor, March 27, 1871. 

POWER OF BOARD TO BUY OR SELL REAL ESTATE. 

A board of directors can make no purchase or sale of real estate 
without authority of the electors. — O'Connor, June 13, 1871. 

ABROGATION OF INDEPENDENT DISTRICT. 

There is no provision of law for annihilation of independent 
district. 

There is but one board and the action of such board will bind it 
though new members are elected. — O'Connor, August 4, 1871. 

SCHOOL-HOUSE FUNDS— LOANING BY TREASURER OF 

BOARD. 

The treasurer is technically liable for loaning school-house 
funds, but if it is proven that interest does not accrue to himself he 
can not be convicted as intention to defraud is an element of em- 
bezzlement. A low rate of interest from a loan in bank might 
not be wrong. The board can not loan funds. It is in both cases 
safer not to assume responsibility which the law does not author- 
ize.— O'Connor, September 2, 1871. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 179 

LIABILITY OF TREASURER WHEN FUNDS ARE 
STOLEN OR LOST. 
If the treasurer has exercised such diligence and care as he does 
with his own money he is not liable if it is stolen.— O'Connor, 
September 5, 1871. 

THE LAW LIMITING A TAX TO TEN MILLS ON THE 

DOLLAR FOR SCHOOL-HOUSE PURPOSES DOES 

NOT PREVENT AN ADDITIONAL TAX 

TO MEET INDEBTEDNESS. 

Where electors have failed to vote a tax to meet indebtedness 
the board can not levy said tax unless compelled by mandamus. 

The treasurer should pay the orders first presented, unless the 
tax is levied specifically to pay a certain judgment, when it should 
be so applied. 

The law says where subdistricts have built their own school- 
houses the tax should be assessed as justice and equity require. 

When the new members of the board are qualified it is not 
proper for the former members to transact business. 

On the third Monday in March the old members are out of 
office.— Cutts, March 30, 1872. 

INDEPENDENT DISTRICT. 
All independent districts must be organized before August 1st. 
All taxes certified by the district township board for that year 
are void. — Cutts, November 9, 1872. 

INDEPENDENT DISTRICT. 
An independent district can not be formed from a city or town 
within an independent district. — Cutts, January 19, 1874. 

OFFICER, REMOVAL OF BY THE BOARD. 
The board of directors have no authority of law to remove one 
of its officers. — Cutts, January 31, 1874. 

TAXES— CERTIFICATION OF. 

If the board in certifying a tax, instead of specifying a certain 
amount specify a rate per cent, while their action would be irreg- 
ular it would not be so illegal as to render the tax void. 

The case would be different if there should be an entire omission 
of or neglect to certify any tax since then, the supervisors could 



180 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

not determine the per centum to be assessed. — Cutts, February 9, 

1874. 

CITY LIMITS, EXTENSION OF— EFFECTS ON INDEPEND- 
ENT DISTRICT OF SAID CITY. 
When the limits of a city are extended, the limits of the inde- 
pendent district in said city are correspondingly extended.— 
Cutts, May 4, 1876. 

TERRITORY ANNEXED BY EXTENSION OF CITY 
LIMITS— TAXES ETC. 

The annexed territory becomes at once a part of the independ- 
ent district of said city. 

If the annexation is completed before the levy of taxes by the 
supervisors, the rate should be uniform over the whole district. 

If however the annexation is not completed until after the 
annual levy, the rate of tax on the annexed territory will be the 
same as that on the district where it was taken. — Cutts, October 
30, 1876. 

SCHOOL-HOUSE SITE— EXTENSION OF TOWARDS A 
DWELLING WHEN THE OWNER OBJECTS. 

When a school-house site is within 30 rods of a house the site 
can not be enlarged towards the house if the owner objects. 
Said site may be extended by condemnation in the opposite 
•direction. — Cutts, October, 1876. 

CONTRACT, TEACHERS'— WHEN SCHOOL-HOUSE 
IS BURNED DOWN. 

A contract made with a teacher in all respects in conformity to 
law, in case the school-house burns down and the board fail to 
provide another, said teac er being ready to comply with his part 
of the contract can collect pay according to contract. 

The amount of pay can not be more than his regular wages. 
If said teacher uses proper diligence to secure employment at 
something which he can do and secures employment, the board 
will pay him the difference between the amount received in his 
new work, and the amount of his wages under contract. In other 
words his actual loss should be made good.— McJunkin, January 
15, 1877. 



SCH-JOL laws of IOWA. 181 

INDEPENDENT DISTRICTS, CONSOLIDATION OF. 

The independent districts of a township may be consolidated 
into an independent district township. The boundaries of an 
independent district may be so changed as to form any number 
of districts less than previously existed. If in either case the 
proceedings are legal, the formation is valid. — McJunkin, April 
10, 1877. 

SCHOOL-HOUSE TAX— FAILURE OF DISTRICT 

TOWNSHIP TO VOTE. 

The only provision for voting a tax by the electors is at the 

annual meeting in March. If the electors refuse there is no 

remedy. The law makes them the sole judges of the necessity of 

such tax. 

2. It is the duty of the board of directors to certify any tax 
voted by the electors. 

3. If the electors refuse the only remedy is for the sub-district 
to tax themselves or wait until the legislature furnishes a legal 
remedy. 

4. There is no legal indebtedness between subdistricts. — 
McJunkin, April 13, 1877. 

SECTION 1798, SCHOOL LAWS 1876, APPLIES ALIKE 
TO DISTRICT TOWNSHIPS AND INDEPENDENT 
CITY DISTRICTS.— November 20, 1877. 
(See in this connection Iowa Reports, 45, Page 53.) 
Section 1798 is not restricted in its application to cases enu- 
merated in section 1797; but is made to refer also to all cases 
where territory may be transferred to the district where it geo- 
graphically belongs. — January 5, 1878. 

APPEAL FROM ACTION OF COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT 
—JURISDICTION. 
The superintendent of public instruction has jurisdiction in all 
matters appealed from the action of county superintendents. — 
January 5, 1878. 

LEGAL PAYMENT FOR SCHOOL-HOUSE SITE. 
A compliance with the provisions of section 1827, School Law 
1876, is all that is necessary. The money must be deposited for 
the owner and not for the mortgagee.— August 21, 1878. 



182 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

SITE— CHANGE OF IN SUBDISTRICTS REFERRED TO 

IN SECTION 1798, SCHOOL LAWS 1876. 
In case of change of site the house still remains under the con- 
trol of the district to which it always belonged. — September 12 
1878. 

PAY OF COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT DURING 
INSTITUTE. 
The county superintendent is entitled to his per diem for time 
spent during the Institute. — September 25, 18.3. 

ASSETS, DIVISION OF. 

1. In the division of assets between districts where changes in 
boundaries have been made, each should receive that part to 
which it is beneficially entitled. 

2. Subsequent changes in the form of territory will not lelieve 
that territory from its responsibility to assume its share of assets 
and liabilities. 

3. Payment of amount due must be made to the party entitled 
to hold and use it. — November 6, 1878. 

SCHOOL-HOUSE, CONTROL OF. 
The electors may take the control of the school-houses out of 
the hands of the boaid of directors. — January 4, 1879. 

INDEPENDENT DISTRICT— ORGANIZATION OF. 
In fixing boundaries for a city or town district (Sees. 1,800 and 
1,801), the board may include territory from a contiguous rural 
independent district. — June 7, 1879. 

INDEPENDENT DISTRICT— ORGANIZING OF. 
A city or town in an independent rural district can not organ- 
ize as an independent city or town district. — June 19, 1879. 

TEXT BOOKS. 
An adoption of text books holds for three years, even though 
the form of the district is changed. — January 19, 1880. 

INSTITUTE EXPENDITURES. 

Institute funds may not be used to purchase reference books. — 
January 23, 1880. 

ANNUAL STATEMENT— Sec 1813. 
The annual statement in independent districts must be pub- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 183 

lished in a newspaper, if one is printed in the district. — February 
13, 1880. 

ASSETS, DIVISION OF. 

Taxes collected subsequent to the organization of independent 
districts from the sub-districts of a district township are assets 
which must be divided equitably among the independent districts. 
August 6, 1880. 

APPEAL, TRIAL OF. 
A partv unwilling to give testimony may be compelled to do so 
by sections of Code 3692-3695.— April 9, 1881. 

THE ASSETS AND LIABILITIES OF THE DISTRICT 

LOSING THE TERRITORY ONLY SHALL 

BE CONSIDERED. 

Chapter 118, Laws of Nineteenth General Assembly.— Mc- 
Phearson, October 7, 1882. 

APPEAL WILL LIE. 

Section 1763 was not repealed by Chapter 8, Laws 1880. And 
boards cannot be compelled to submit questions at such elections, 
general or special, other than those mentioned in 1807 of the 
code, and for the reason that other matters seem to be discretion- 
ary. No board or officer can be compelled to do that which is dis- 
cretionary with him. — McPhearson, August 8, 1883. 

CONTRACT— COMPLETION OF. 

It is proper for the state superintendent to entertain any ap- 
peal that it is proper for a county superintendent to consider. An 
action pending between the boards may be rejected at any time 
before the completion of the transaction. A proposition and ac- 
ceptance is supposed to complete a contract. — McPhearson, Octo- 
ber, 20. 1883. 

CHILDREN— ATTEND SCHOOL IN ADJOINING DISTRICT. 

Without the voluntary consent of both county superintendent 
and board of directors of an adjoining district, children can not 
attend school in such adjoining district to the one they reside in. 



184 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 



From a refusal to give such consent an appeal does not lie to 
the county superintendent. — Applies to Sec. 1793. McPhear- 
son, May 9, 1883. 

Lands belonging to the state can not be condemned and taken 
for school-house purposes. 

It would in effect makefthe state the defendant.— McPhear- 
son, March 22, 1884. 




PART V. 

DIGEST OF SUPREME COURT DECISIONS. 



AFFIDAVIT. 

Affidavit may be amended to correct errors, mistakes, or any 
defects, so as to avoid technicalities and secure a fair trial. — 11, 
70; 18, 435; 22, 232. 

APPEAL. 

A mere irregularity in taking an appeal, or the notice thereof, 
is waived by the voluntary appearance of the parties. — 19, 83. 

The appellant has a right to dismiss his own appeal. — 10, 390; 
12, 351; 48, 19. 

Not a case at law. — 36, 413. 

In cases of appeal, counsel cannot be employed at expense of 
district.— 36, 413. 

APPELLATE— TRIBUNAL, 

Will not presume against the correctness of the finding, but 
always in favor of it.— 8, 76; 8, 288: 9, 353. 

AWARD. 

Award of arbitrators may be set aside. — 3, 577; 54, 286. 
Award has same force as verdict of jury. — 6, 466. 

ASSETS. 

Upon the division of a township district into independent 
districts, the board of the former are empowered to make a divis- 
ion of the assets, wherein their jurisdiction is exclusive, and their 
judgment can not be set aside in a collateral proceeding. —43, 444; 
45. 391. 

When a district township is divided into two or more districts, 
school-houses and real estate are to be estimated in making the 
division of assets. — 36, 216. 

185 



186 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

ACTION. 

An action within the jurisdiction of the board finds its correc- 
tion in an appeal. But an irregularity, fraud or illegality maybe 
remedied in the courts. — 23, 408. 

ASSETS. 
The boards of directors of the two districts, or arbitrators 
chosen by them shall apportion the assets upon the reorganiza- 
tion of the districts, and their jurisdiction for this purpose is ex- 
clusive.— 45, 104; 45, 391. But an appeal will lie.— 45, 391. The 
action of the boards in settlement will not be set aside in the 
courts unless fraud or mistake is proven. — 52, 153. 

BOARDS. 

Boards have power to dismiss or suspend pupils. — 30, 432; 81, 
562; 50, 145. 

Boards have no power to bind the district in purchasing maps, 
charts, and other apparatus, without a vote of the electors. — 25, 
449: 26, 281; 28, 334. 

Boards may bind the corporation by contracts entered into after 
the election of their successors and before their qualification. — 
13, 557. 

Boards may levy additional tax necessary to maintain schools 
during the term required by law. — 12, 414. 

Boards may be legalized. — 6, 391. 

BONDS. 

Power in division of assets. Section 211. Not entitled to pay. 
55, 654. 

In the absence of power to execute, no subsequent transfer of 
the same will give them effect, and they are void even in the 
hands of bona fide holders. — 43, 48. 

OFFICIAL BONDS. 

Where one elected to office failed until after the time for him to 
enter upon hi ? duties to file his official bond, which had been pre- 
pared, and the office was thereupon declared to be vacant, and he 
was subsequently appointed to the same office, whereupon the 
bond first prepared was filed ; held, that the sureties thereon were 
not liable for the default of their principal. — 44, 15 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 187 

Bonds issued exceeding in amount live per cent, of the taxable 

property are void. — 44, 122. 

BOUNDARIES. 

Boards of directors of independent districts can not change. — 

5, 390. 

COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT. 

It is the exclusive province of the court to construe writings 
constituting the cause of action. — 37, 316. 

CONTRACT. 

Contract — binding, if acted upon by both parties, although not 
signed nor approved. — 2!, 592; 56 476. 

The consideration need not appear upon the face of the contract ; 
it may be proven by parol. — 5, 341. 

Contract is binding if accepted and acted upon although not 
signed. — 5, 341. 

The teacher being permitted to enter upon the performance of 
the contract has a right to presume its approval. — 35, 378. 

If an agent make a valid contract without authority he is him- 
self bound thereby.— 37, 315. 

The district township is bound by contract of subdirector when 
made according to instructions. — 35, 361 . 

Deductions may be made from the contract price of a house for 
defects even after accepting the same. — 3, 211. 

Contract completed by letter unless revocation before that 
time is brought to the notice of the other party. — 6, 279. 

A written contract may be varied by a subsequent parol agree- 
ment, additional to the original, and upon a new consideration. — 
8, 65; 50, 98. 

It is presumed that the written contract embraces all the agree- 
ment of the parties. — 52, 130. 

A school-house was erected under an agreement with the owner 
of the land upon which it was placed, that the district should 
have free use of the land as long as the school-house should remain 
thereon; held that the contract was not within the statute of 
frauds.— 43, 466. 

Verbal corporations may make verbal as well as written contracts, 
within the scope of their powers, and it was held not essential to 
the validity of the purchase that a vote of the directors therefor 
should appear upon the records. — 54, 564. 



188 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

It is within the power of the board to change a contract for 
building, but unless makers consent they are released. — 50, 98. 

DE FACTO OFFICER. 
De facto officer, his acts affecting third persons can not be col- 
laterally assailed. — 14, 465. 

DEFECT. 
Defect in the complaint of proceedings not complained of by 
the parties appealing, not sufficient cause for reversal. — 5, 414. 

DISCRETION. 

The local tribunals are invested with a large discretion, and 
their action should have great weight. — 21, 594; 23, 410. 

Discretion of school board can not be controlled by mandamus 
whether exercised wisely or unwisely. — 24, 270. 

DISTRICT TOWNSHIP. 

District township can not incur indebtedness exceeding 5 per- 
cent on taxable property of the corporation. — 37, 546. Constitu- 
tion, Article 11, Section 3. 

District township shall coincide in boundary with civil town- 
ships. Section 1797, school laws provides the onlv exception. — 
41, 30. 

District township not receiving on division of assets their just 
proportion of school-house property have a claim against those 
that obtain more than their just share. — 36, 216. 

ERROR. 

The record must show error or it will be presumed correct. — 
1, 93; note c. 2, 551; 5, 374. 

Error without prejudice. The judgment of the inferior tribunal 
will not be reversed for an error which did not prejudice the ap- 
pellant.— 13, 479; 15, 121. 

Error must appear, the party appealing must satisfy the tribu- 
nal that there is error.— 1, 472; 1, 513; 2, 147; 7, 4; 8, 288. 

ELECTION. 

The law contemplates three hours for meeting to elect sub- 
director.— 37, 131; 39, 381. 

Election to vote upon the organization of an independent dis- 
trict must allow voting from 9 a. m. to 4 p. m. — 34, 308. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 189 

EVIDENCE PAROL. 

Evidence parol is not competent to vary written. — 1, 264, {note 
/);2, 442; 6, 523. 

Evidence parol, is admissible to show compliance with the con- 
ditions of a written contract. — 1, 9*-!, (notef); 3, 76. 

The superior tribunal can act only upon the testimony on which 
the decree below was rendered. — 1, 452. 

When all the evidence is not before the appellate tribunal, the 
presumption is in favor of the correctness of the finding. — 1, 482; 
1, 513; 14, 429. 

The ground of objection to, must be shown by the record, or 
superior tribunal will not disturb the ruling. — 2, 46. 

Evidence parol, is admissible to show that a written agreement, 
through fraud, accident, or mistake, fails to state the whole or 
true contract; yet this fact must be made conclusive. — 15, 392. 

A verdict must be clearly against the evidence, to authorize a 
reversal upon that ground alone.— 14, 47. 

The appellate court will not presume that improper test mony 
was admitted by the court below. A bill of exceptions is needed. 
6, 75. 

GARNISHMENT. 

A corporation may waive exemption from. — 25, 315. 

HIGHWAYS. 
Boards — independent districts may secure. — 55, 568. 

INDEPENDENT DISTRICT. 

Notice of election must provide for vote of all within the limits 
of the contemplated district. — 17. 88. 

Boundaries need not be confined to a single township. — 25, 307. 

INJUNCTION. 

The county superintendent can not enjoin on the ground that 
teacher has no certificate. Such action may be taken by a citizen 
or resident of the district. — 17, 229. 

JURISDICTION. 

Jurisdiction is acquired by the collection of taxes from and pro- 
vision of schools for territory, although no action of boards had 
ever been taken.— 25, 277. 



190 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

Jurisdiction of boards in division of assets, is exclusive. — 
45, 104. 

LIABILITY— PERSONAL. 

Where a person contracts in an official capacity which is dis- 
closed in the contract itself, he is not peisonally liable, although 
having failed to affix his official title. — 7. 509. 

A ministerial officer is liable for damages caused by his mis- 
feasance or nonfeasance in office, but a judicial officer is not liable 
for judicial acts when it is not shown that he acted corruptly. — 
14, 510; 17, 155; 38,47. 

Where a public officer, other than a judicial one, does an act 
directly invasive of the private rights of others, and there is oth- 
erwise no remedy for the injury, such officer is personally liable 
without proof of malice and intent to injure. — 24, 337. 

The liability of the treasurer is absolute ; it can not be varied or 
diminished, by the cause or manner of a loss. — 40, 131; 37, 554; 
5, 156; 39, 12. 

LEASE. 

See Contract. 

MANDAMUS. 

Boards may be compelled by mandamus to levy tax. — 34, 514. 

A writ of, not allowable when the party aggrieved has the rem- 
edy of appeal.— 35» 448; 50, 648. 

Mandamus will not lie to compel issuance of certificate. — 52, 
111. 

A writ will not issue commanding an officer to do what is not 
within his power to do. If he has put it out of his power to do 
his duty, he may be liable in damages to one prejudiced by his 
act, but in such case mandamus will not lie. — 44, 458. 

MONEY. 

When money is received belonging to another, the law implies 
a promise on the part of the receiver to pay it over. — 11, 506. 

MOTION. 

The force and effect of a motion does not terminate with a 
change of officers, or members but remains in force until repealed. 
35, 365. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 191 

NOTICE. 

Notice to attorney binds the client. — 1, 453. 

The manner of serving must be shown. — 6, 79. 

A voluntary appearance by a defendance waives defects in the 
service of notice. — 18, 20. 

Notice of annual or subdistrict meeting. A failure to give, will 
not invalidate proceedings, if a meeting is held at the usual time 
and place.— 10, 218. 

OFFICE. 

The only legal test to determine the title of an office is a writ 
quo warranto.— -22, 86; 27, 528. 

PARTY. 
Party may elect which remedy he wishes to use, when he has 
power to use either. — 3, 79. See Action. 

PUPIL. 

Pupil can not be excluded on account of his color, nor be com 
pelled to attend separate school.— 40, 519; 41, 693; 24, 270. 

Pupil may be expelled for not obeying rules of the school, al- 
though instructed not to obey by the parent. — 50, 145; 56, 573. 

RECORD. 

Where the record is silent, and a state of case can be supposed, 
under which the finding would be correct, that conclusion is 
adopted which is consistent with the ruling made. — 5, 476. 

Where the record is so confused that the appellate tribunal can 
not act with safety to the rights of the parties, the cause will be 
remanded for a re-hearing. —8, 79. 

After proof of the loss of a record, its contents may be proved 
by secondary evidence —8, 301. 

The failure of the secretary of the board to record all proceed 
ings of board, and of district meetings, in separate books, or a 
record on loose sheets, will not render proceedings void. — 8, 302. 

RE-HEARING. 
A re-hearing will be ordered where the necessity is made clearly 
apparent.— 5, 404; 7, 232. 

RESIDENCE. 
Residence, meaning of. A person may have several residences. — 
1, 36, foot note; 24, 209 ; 25, 91. 



192 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

REPAIRS. 
Contracts for the repair of school-houses may be paid from the 
contingent fund, without being specially authorized by the elect- 
ors.— 25, 438. 

SCHOOL ORDER. 
School order not negotiable.— 29, 342; 39, 496. 

SCHOOL-HOUSES. 
School-houses are not subject to a mechanic's lien. — 54, 81. 
Electors may permit to be used for religious worship and Sun- 
day School.— 35, 197. 

SCHOOL-HOUSE SITE. 
School site. The power to fix a site carries with it the power 
to re-locate that site. — 23, 411. 

SUBDIRECTOR. 

Subdirector must comply with rules and regulations made by 
the board for his guidance. — 35, 365. 

Subdirector is subject to rules and restrictions, not inconsistent 
with law, prescribed by the board. — 40, 371. 

STATE UNIVERSITY. 
State University not a corporation.— 42, 335. 
SCHOOL DIRECTORS. 

School directors have the power to provide for the children of 
one subdistrict attending school in an adjoining subdistrict, and 
to discontinue school in their own subdistrict 40, 369. 

TRANSCRIPTS. 
Transcripts should not be merely naked copies of papers, but 
should show their order, dates and connection. — 1, 590. 

TERRITORY. 
The extent of — which may be added to a town or city dis- 
trict; for school purposes, is not limited by the law. — 15, 436. 

TEACHER. 
The dismissal of a teacher is warranted where there is a 
failure to manage and govern the school, though the teacher 
was not delinquent in attempts to fulfill the contract.— 21, 593. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 193 

TAXES— RATE. 
The rate for teachers and contingent fund can be votedjor fixed 
only by board of directors. — 41, 180. 

TAX. 
A tax levied to pay the principal and interest of bonds is valid 
so far as it is within the municipal power, and beyond that it is 
invalid.— 43, 49. 

TAXES. 

Taxes may not be levied by board of supervisors beyond the 
maximum rate. — 45. 466. 

If a school-house tax is not levied by the supervisors at the 
proper time, it may be levied subsequently. — 49, 325. 

Taxes voted and collected must be applied to building where 
the electors voted. The electors may not rescind their vote and 
direct the money expended elsewhere. — 50, 648. 

Taxes illegal— refunded.— 56, 85. 

TERRITORY. 
Section 1798 provides for detaching territory only when both 
townships are organized as district townships and each is governed 
by a board of directors whose jurisdiction extends over the entire 
township. — 45, 53. 

TEACHER'S CONTRACT— WHEN NOT ENFORCEABLE. 

No recovery can be had on a contract to teach school, made 
with a subdirector, but not approved by the president of the 
board, unless such approval has been waived and the contract 
ratified by the district ; the fact that the teacher proceeds there- 
under and completes the performance of the contract is not suffi- 
cient to constitute such ratification and authorize a recovery. — 
56, 573. 

TERRITORY— CHANGE OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES. 
Where territory is set into an adjoining county or township, or 
attached to an independent school district in an adjoining county 
or township, for school purposes, or is restored from an independ- 
ent district to the district township to which it geographically be- 
longs, there must be an equitable apportionment of all assets and 
liabilities.— 58, 77. 

13 



194 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 



INDEPENDENT DISTRICTS— CHANGE OF BOUNDARIES 
The boundaries of an independent district maybe changed and 
such change may include territory which became a part of such 
independent district at the time of its formation. No reason 
exists why the boundaries of an independent district as originally 
formed, can not be changed as readily as when territory is after- 
ward attached to it.— 58, 77. 

PUPIL— SUSPENSION OF. 
A board of directors has no power to adopt a rule which will 
deprive a child of school privileges, except as a punishment for 
breach of discipline or an offense of good morals. — 56, 476. 




PART VI. 

BLANK FORMS. 



NUMBER 1. 

Form for Proceedings of District Township Meeting. 
[Section 1717.] 

March , 188.. 

The electors in the district township of , in the 

county of , and state of Iowa, assembled at 

pursuant to previous notice. The meeting was called to order 

by the president at o'clock m. The secretary being 

absent, was appointed secretary. 

The order of business was stated by the president. 

On motion of Mr. . ,a tax of 

dollars was voted for school-house purposes. 

Mr. moved that a tax of eight hundred 

dollars be voted for the purpose of erecting a school-house in 
subdistrict No. 

Mr. moved to amend by striking out 

"eight hundred dollars," and inserting "one thousand dollars," 
which motion was agreed to, and the motion as amended was 
decided in the affirmative. 

Mr moved to transfer 

dollars of unused school-house fund to teachers' (contingent) 
fund. 

Mr moved that the various powers con- 
ferred by law on the district meeting, which may be delegated to 
the board of directors, be and the same are hereby so delegated. 
After discussion, the vote was taken, and the motion was 
adopted. 

On motion of Mr , the meeting adjourned. 



Chairman. 

• — -» 
Secretary. 

195 



196 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

Note. — It is essential that the secretary make a full and 
accurate record of the proceedings of the district township meet- 
ing, which should be submitted to the president for his approval 
at the close of the meeting, and afterwards recorded in the 
district records, or otherwise preserved. 

These records, together with all certificates of the action of any 
subdistrict in relation to voting school-house taxes, must be sub- 
mitted by the secretary, who is the proper custodian of the 
records, to the board of directors, at the meeting held on the 
following Monday, to form the basis of their action in apportion- 
ing and certifying school-house taxes to the board of supervisors. 



NUMBER 2. 
Form of Notice for Annual Meeting in Subdistricts. 

[Section 1718.] 

Notice is hereby given that a meeting of the qualified electors 

of subdistrict No , of the district township of 

in the county of , and state of Iowa, will be held at 

, on the first Monday in March, 188.., at o'clock, 

for the election of one subdirector, and the transaction of such 
other business as may legally come before it. 

Dated, , 188.. 



Subdirector of Subdistrict No. 



Notes, (a) In case there is no subdirector, the above notice 
must be given by the secretary of the district township. It must 
be posted five days previous to the meeting, in at least three pub- 
lic places in the subdistrict. The notice should designate the 
hour of meeting, which cannot be earlier than 9 o'clock, a. m. See 
section 1789. 

(b) When an organized district township is left without offi- 
cers, or without a quorum, the above notice for a special election 
should be posted by the township trustees, in at least three pub- 
lic places in each subdistrict, changing the time of holding the 
election to suit the circumstances of the case. See section 1714. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 197 

NUMBER 3. 

Form of Proceedings of Annual Subdistrict Meeting. 

[Sections 171-8, 1719, 1720.] 

March , 188.. 

The electors of subdistrict No. , of the district township of 

, in the county of , and state of Iowa, 

met pursuant to previous notice. 

was appointed chairman, and 

secretary of the meeting. 

On motion of Mr , the meeting proceeded 

to the election by ballot of one subdirector. 

The chairman announced the result of the ballot to be as 
follows: 

20 votes were cast for A B; 15 votes for D; and 10 votes for 
E P; upon which A B was declared duly elected subdirector for 
the ensuing year. 

Mr moved that a tax of 

dollars be voted for the erection of a school-house in this sub- 
district. 

The motion was lost. 

On motion of Mr , the meeting adjourned. 

Chairman. 

Secretary. 

Notes, (a) If the electors desire to hold a caucus, it should 
be done before the subdistrict meeting is called to order. Only 
one ballot can be had for the election of subdirector, and a 
plurality will elect. 

(b) The amount voted by the subdistrict must be certified to 
the next regular district township meeting. 

(c) To avoid the levying of taxes upon the subdistrict, the 
district township may simply be requested, by a vote of the elect- 
ors of the subdistrict, to build them a school-house, without ask- 
ing for a definite amount of money. 



198 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

NUMBER 4. 
Form for Certificate of Election of Subdir ector. 

[Section 1719.] 
We hereby certify that, at the annual meeting of subdistrict 

No , of the district township of , in the county 

of , and state of Iowa, held on the first Monday in 

March, 188.., was duly elected subdirector for 

said subdistrict. 

.... .._. , 

Chairman. 
. ... — . .... , 

Secretary. 

Notes, (a) This certificate, slightly varied, will answer in 
case of the election of a subdirector at a special meeting, called 
by the township trustees. In both cases it should be presented 
by the subdirector elect to the board of directors of the district 
township, and filed with the president of said district. 

(b) In case of a tie vote, the fact should be certified in a sim- 
ilar manner to that given in the above form, by the officers of the 
meeting. 



NUMBER 5. 

form for Certificate of Tax Voted by Subdistrict 
Meeting. 

[Sections 1718, 1778.] 
To , 

Secretary of the board of directors of the district 

township of : 

I hereby certify that the electors of subdistrict No , 

of the distridt township of , in the county of 

, and state of Iowa, at the annual meeting, held 

on the first Monday in March, 188.., voted a tax of 

dollars for the erection of a school-house in said subdistrict. 



Subdirector. 

Note. — This certificate may be made either by the subdirector 
or by the chairman and secretary of the subdistrict meeting. 



. SCHOOL LAWS OP IOWA. 199 

NUMBER 6. 

form of Certificate for Election of the Officers of the 

Board) to the County Superintendent, Auditor, 

and Treasurer. 

[Section 1736.] 

I hereby certify that at a meeting of the board of directors of 

the district township of , held on the 

day of , 188.., the follow- 
ing named officers were elected and have duly qualified accord- 
ing to law : 

to the office of .'_., P. 0. Address, 

to the office of , P. 0. Address, 

Dated at , 188.. 



Secretary. 

Note. — All the officers of the board, in addition to the oath 

which they may have taken as members, must take the oath of 

office as prescribed by section 5, article 11, of the constitution. 



NUMBER 7. 

Form for Notice of District Toivnship Meeting. 

[Section 1742.] 

Notice is hereby given to the qualified electors of the district 
township of , in the county of , 

and state of Iowa, that the annual meeting of said district will 

be held at _ , on the second Monday 

in March, 188.., at o'clock m., for the transaction of 

such business as may legally co:ue before it. 



Secretary. 

Dated , 188.. 

Notes, (a) The above notice must be posted in five different 
conspicuous places in the district and a copy of the same fur- 
nished to the teacher of each school in session to be read to the 
Dupils thereof. In independent districts, insert immediately 



200 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 



after the word "for" in the concluding part of the notice, the 
words "the election of officers and" in accordance with the pro- 
visions of sections 1807, and 1808. 

(b) The same notice may be given for the extra meetings pro- 
vided for in sections 1717£ and 1822, changing the time of hold- 
ing the election to suit the circumstances of the case. 

NUMBER 8. 

Form for the Treasurer's Account ivith the Teachers' 

Fund. 

[Sections 1747, 1748.] 

, Treasurer, in account with Teachers 

Dr. 



Fund. 



Sept. 28, 188.. 
Oct. 5, 188.. 
Jan. 4, 188.. 
April 5, 188.. 
April 5, 188.. 
July 5, 188., 



To cash received of County Treasurer, 

semi-annual apportionment $270 00 

To cash received of County Treasurer 

district tax 75 00 

To cash received of County Treasurer, 

district tax . 150 00 

To cash received of County Treasurer, 

district tax 197 00 

To cash received of County Treasurer, 

semi-annual apportionment 135 00 

To cash received of County Treasurer, 

district tax ". ; 100 00 

I 



Fund 






, Treasurer, in account with Teachers' 1 

Cr. 


Oct. 
Oct. 


13, 
13, 
14, 
3, 
4, 
4, 
5, 


188.. 
188.. 
188.. 
188.. 
188.. 
188.. 
188.. 


By cash paid James Hogan, 
No. 1 

By cash paid Sarah Smith, 
No. 3 


on order 
on order 


$13600 
89 00 


Nov. 


By cash paid Nicholas Hoover, 
No. 4 


on order 


135 00 


May 


By cash paid Louisa Martin, 
No. 7 


on order 


82 00 


May 
May 


By cash paid Jas. M. Higgins, 
No. 10 

By cash paid Stephen Phelps, 
No. 11 


on order 
on order 


115 00 
175 00 


May 


By cash paid Amelia Mason, 
No 13 


on order 


95 00 









SCHOOL LAWS OF 10... 201 

Note. — A similar account is to be kept with the school-house 
fund and contingent fund, and a statement of the condition of 
any fund is to be rendered at any time when required by the 
board. By keeping a correct account of the orders, as per Form 
No. 16, the treasurer will know the amount outstanding, and 
can readily determine what per cent on each he can pay with 
the funds on hand. 

The above form is intended for separate pages opposite each 
other. 

NUMBER 9. 

Form of Contract between Subdirector (or Secretary), 
and Teacher. 

[Sections 1753, 1757, 1758.] 

This contract, between , of 

county, Iowa, and , subdirector of 

subdistrict No , of the district township of , 

in the county of , and State of Iowa witnesseth: 

That the said agrees to teach the public 

school in said subdistrict for the term of weeks, com- 
mencing on the day of , 188.., and 

well and faithfully to perform the duties of teacher in said school, 
according to law, and the rules legally established for the govern- 
ment thereof, including the exercise of due diligence in the 
preservation of school buildings, grounds, furniture, apparatus, 
and other school property. 

In consideration of said services, the said , as 

subdirector aforesaid, in behalf of said district township, agrees 

to pay the said the sum of 

dollars per school month, at the end of , 

and to perform all the duties required by iaw as such subdirector. 

Witness our hands this day of , 

A. D. 188.. 



Teacher. 



Subdirector. 

The within contract is hereby approved this day of 

, 188.. 



President. 



202 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 



Note. — With a little variation the above form will answer for 
independent districts. The subdirector should file the contract 
with the president and secure his approval before the teacher 
enters upon his duties. The president cannot withhold his 
approval, unless there has been a violation of law or the instruc- 
tions of the board have been disregarded. 

NUMBER 10. 

Form for Teacher's Term Report to District 

Secretary. 

Teacher's report to the district secretary of the school taught 

in subdistrict No , of the district township of , 

county, Iowa, for the term commencing 188..: 



TOTAL. 



Whole number of pupils enrolled 

Average numbe. belonging 

Total attendance in days 

Average daily attendance - 

Total number of days absent 

Number of cases of tardiness 

Number neither absent nor tardy _ 

Number of pupils studying orthography 

Number of pupils studying reading 

Number of pupils studying writing 

Number of pupils studying arithmetic 

Number of pupils studying geography 

Number of pupils studying grammar 

Number of pupils studying physiology 

Number of pupils studying United States 
history ... ... 



Whole number of days taught 

Compensation of teacher per month 

Average cost of tuition per month, for each pupil . 
1 hereby certify that the above report is correct. 



Teacher. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 203 

Notes, (a) The number belonging on any day is equal to the 
number enrolled less the number who have been absent more than 
three consecutive whole days. To obtain the average number 
belonging for the term — divide the sum of the numbers belonging 
for each day hy the number of days the school has been taught. 

(b) To find the average daily attendance — divide the total 
attendance in days by the number of days the school has been 
taught. 

(c) To find the average cost of tuition for each pupil per month 
— divide the amount paid the teacher per month by the average 
daily attendance for the term. 

The above form will also serve for a monthly report to the 
county superintendant, in case he requests it. 

NUMBER 11. 

Form for Revocation of Teachers' Certificate* 

[Section 1771.] 

Office of County Superintendent, 

, county, , 188.. 

To the Boards of School Directors in the county of . 

and State of Iowa : 

Whereas, On the day of , 188.., a 

certificate was issued, authorizing to teach 

in the public schools of this county ; and, 

Whereas, Upon due examination, of which the said 

received personal notice, and was permitted to be 

present and make defense, it appeared that the said 

, in consequence of (here state the offense — 

gross immorality, for example), is unworthy longer to retain the 
same. 

Now, therefore, in pursuance of the provisions of section 1771 
of the school laws of the state of Iowa, the said certificate is 
hereby revoked, to take effect from and after the date hereof. 



County Superintendent. 

Note. — A copy of the above revocation should be transmitted 
to the secretary of each district, and the secretary should imme- 
diately notify each subdirector in his district of the fact. Tho 
teacher should also be served with a copy. 



204 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

NUMBER 12. 
Form for Certificate to the Board of Supervisors of 
the lax Determined by the Board of Directors. 

[Section 1777.] 

, 188.. 

To the Board of Supervisors of county, Iowa : 

I hereby certify that a tax of dollars was this 

day determined by the board of directors of the district township 

of , in the county of , and state 

of Iowa, for the contingent fund, and dollars 

for the teachers' fund, as provided in section 1777 of the Code. 

Secretary. 



NUMBER 13. 
JForm of Notice Permitting the Attendance of Pupils 
from Adjoining Districts. 

[Section 1793.] 

To , Secretary of the Board of Directors of 

the District Township of : 

Notice is hereby given that , and 

, pupils residing in the district township of 

, have been granted permission by the board 

and county superintendent to attend school in subdistrict No. 

, in the district township of , commencing 

on the day of , 188.., for a term of 

- months. 

Dated at , 

, 188 , 

Secretary. 

Note.— By Chapter 41, Laws of 1878, when -the boards of 
district townships cannot agree on the attendance of scholars in 
adjoining districts, they may attend, if the other conditions of 
the law are fulfilled, by permission of the board where they wish 
to attend, and the consent of the county superintendent of the 
county where they reside, and tuition can be collected only from 
date of the official notice. 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 205 

DUMBER 14. 
Form for Affidavit of Appeal 



State of Iowa, | 



[Section 1830.] 
county. 



District Township of ) 

I, .being duly sworn, on oath say : that 

on the day of , A. D. 188.., the board 

of directors of said district township rendered a decision (or made 
an order), whereby (here state facts showing affiant's interest in 
the decision, and the injury to that interest) ; that said board, in 
rendering the decision (or making the order) aforesaid, committed 
errors, as follows: (Here state the errors charged.) 

Subscribed and sworn to by before me, 

this day of , A. D. 188.. 



NUMBER 15. 
lormfor Notice of Appeal 
(Section 1832.] 
State of Iowa, 



county 



!■ ss. 



Y. 

District Township of 
To 



Secretary of the Board of Directors of the District Township of 



You are hereby notified that has filed in 

my office an affidavit alleging that said board of directors, on the 

..- day of , A. D. 188.., made a decision 

(or an order) whereby {here describe the decision or order, so that 
the secretary may identify it), and claiming an appeal therefrom. 
You are therefore required, within ten days after receiving this 
notice, to file in my office at , in said county, 



206 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

a complete transcript of the record of the proceedings of the 
board relating to said order, together with copies of all papers 
filed with you, pertaining to said action appealed from. 

Dated at , 

, 188.. 



County Superintendent. 



NUMBER 16. 

Form of Certificate to District Secretary's Transcript. 

[Section 1832] 

I, , secretary of the board of directors of 

the district township of . . , in the county of 

_ , Iowa, hereby certify that the foregoing is a 

correct and complete transcript of the record of all proceedings 
of the board, and of all papers filed, relating to the case 
v 

Dated at , 

, 188.. 



Secretary. 
Note. — The secretary's transcript will contain: 

1. A copy of all that portion of the records of the proceedings 
of the meeting relating to the action appealed from, with the date 
of the meeting. 

2. A copy of each petition, remonstrance, plat, or other paper 
relating to said action, submitted to the board, to which will be 
annexed the above certificate. 



NUMBER 17. 

form for Notice of Hearing of Appeal 

[Section 1833.] 

State of Iowa, ) 
county, f ' 



v - f 

District Township of ) 

To - : 

You are hereby notified that there is on file in this office a 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 207 

transcript of the proceedings of the board of directors of the 

district township of , at a meeting held on 

the day of , 188 , in relation 

to (here describe the decision or order appealed from), from which 
appeal has been taken ; and that the said appeal will be heard 

before me at , in said county, on the 

day of ,188 , at o'clock, m. 

Dated at , 

188- 



County Superintendent. 
Note. — The appellant, the president and secretary of the 
board, and other parties known to be interested, should receive a 
copy of this notice. 

NUMBER 18. 

form of Certificate to the County Superintendents 

Transcript. 

[Sections 1832, 1835.] 

I, _ , superintendent of 

county, Iowa, hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct and 
complete transcript of the records of all proceedings had, evi- 
dence given, and papers filed in my office, and my rulings 

thereon ; also of my decision in the case 

v 

Dated at , 

, 188- 



County Superintendent. 

Notes.— (a) The date of filing every paper should be endorsed 
thereon ; also, in the case of motions, all orders and rulings of 
the county superintendent. All oral motions and evidence should 
be reduced to writing. 

(b) The transcript of the county superintendent will consist of 
a literal copy of every paper filed, and all endorsements thereon, 
together with a copy of all evidence given ; the whole arranged in 
chronological order, closing with the decision of the county super- 
intendent in full, with the above certificate annexed. See notes 
(c) and (d) to section 1834. 



PART VII. 

APPENDIX. 



Recent S'hool Law Decisions, Compiled by Lyndon. 
A. Smith, A. B., L. L. M. 



LICENSE PRE-REQUISITE TO A VALID CONTRACT. 

Section 1. A contract to employ a person to teach 
who has not a certificate or license is void in Illinois, 
Indiana, and Minnesota ; and procuring a certificate after 
entering into such an agreement does not render it a 
valid contract. In Ohio it has been decided that a statutory- 
provision similar to the one prohibiting the employment 
of unlicensed teachers in the States above mentioned 
does not render invalid a contract of employment entered 
into with a teacher before he obtains a certificate, provided 
he obtains it before commencing to teach. The court 
said : " The law forbids the employment of a teacher who 
has not a certificate. The teacher is not ' employed/ 
within the meaning and intent of this provision, until he 
engages in the discharge of his duties as teacher. The 
mischief intended to be guarded against was the teaching 
of a school by an incompetent person, and not the mak- 
ing of the contract by an incompetent person." In 
Vermont, if a person commences teaching without a 
certificate and continues to teach after obtaining one, he 
is considered to have made a new contract, commencing 
at the time when the certificate was obtained and having* 
the same terms as the one under which teaching was 
begun. Iu Minnesota a person commenced teaching 
under a verbal contract. He taught three weeks, then 

14 209 



310 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

obtained a certificate and made a written contract to run 
three months from the time he commenced teaching. It 
was held that he was entitled to wages at the stipulated 
rate after the certificate was obtained and the written 
contract made, and to no remuneration for the previous 
three weeks. In au Illinois case a certificate was not 
obtained until the middle of the term. A new contract 
was entered into at that time to pay the teacher double 
wages for the remainder of the term. This was considered 
an attempt to do indirectly what there was no power to 
do directly ; and therefore the contract was held void, as 
was the original contract. 

CONTRACTS. 

Section 2. A contract is to be construed in reference 
to contemporaneous laws and usages. For example, in 
Michigan the law directs that a contract of hiring to 
teach " shall require the teacher to keep a correct list of 
the pupils and the age of each attending the school, and 
the number of days each pupil is present, and to furnish 
the director with a correct copy of the same at the close 
of the school " The court thought that it could not be 
doubted these requirements, though not mentioned in his 
contract, imposed upon the teacher of every public 
district school the duty of compliance with them, and 
that they become a part of a teacher's contract, whether 
inserted in it or not. The contract of a teacher is for his 
own personal services. The nature and quality of those 
services were admirably described by Judge Worden in an 
Indiana case. In giving the opinion of the court, he 
said : "A teacher doubtless, like a lawyer, surgeon, or 
physician, when he undertakes an employment, impliedly 
agrees that he will bestow upon the service a reasonable 
degree of learning, skill, and care. When he accepts an 
employment as teacher in any given school, he agrees by 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 211 

implication that he has the learning necessary to enable 
him to teach the branches that are to be taught therein, 
as well as that he has the capacity in a reasonable degree 
of imparting that learning to others. He agrees, also, 
that he will exercise a reasonable degree of care and 
diligence in the advancement of his pupils in their studies, 
in preserving harmony, order, and discipline in the school, 
and that he will, himself, conform, as near as may be, to 
such reasonable rules and regulations as maybe established 
by competent authority for the government of the school. 
He also agrees, as we think, by a necessary implication, 
that while he continues in such employment his moral 
conduct shall be in all respects exemplary and beyond 
just reproach." 

The hiring of a substitute by a teacher under any 
ordinary circumstances is a breach of contract, though 
the competency of the substitute is unquestioned. A 
teacher may not ordinarily absent himself by leave of 
individual members of a school board. 

SAME. 

Section 3. A teacher's contract is oftentimes binding 
upon a district though it is irregular in some respect, as 
when it was made with part of a board or was verbally 
made with a subcommittee instructed by the board to 
employ a teacher. The law implies a contract from the 
doing and accepting of work, and a district can not, on 
the ground that he hae not complied with the law requir- 
ing a written contract, have the benefit of a teacher's 
services without remunerating him. Where there is a 
written contract it cannot be orally contradicted. A 
contract with a township board to teach in a subdistrict 
over which a lower court has decided that the board has 
control, is not invalidated by the reversal of that decision 
by the supreme court. Contracts with de facto officers 



212 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

are binding upon the body they represent ; but contracts 
entered into with a number of persons acting as a board 
are not binding upon the school district when there is in 
existence at the same time another acting board who are 
so dejure and who have notified the persons contracting 
with the other board not to carry out their contracts. 
Which of the boards is such of right is a question for 
the courts to decide. The part performance of an oral 
contract, in a case where the law requires a written one, 
is a ratification of it and renders a district liable for any 
breach of it. There is no contract, express or implied, 
between a teacher and a pupil, and, in the absence of 
trespass, the latter cannot sue the former for refusing 
to hear his recitations. The teacher's contract is with 
the directors alone. A minor who possesses the essential 
qualifications in regard to moral character, learning, and 
ability, and who has obtained the requisite certificate, 
may, with the assent of his parents, enter into a valid 
contract to teach school. A father is charged with 
certain duties as respects his child, as education, support, 
and protection, and, as some compensation for these 
duties, he has the right to claim the earnings of his 
child in the absence of proof of relinquishment. 

RECOVERY OF WAGES. WHEN IMPOSSIBLE. 

Section 4. A teacher cannot recover for services 
rendered after the appropriation out of which payment 
of them must be made is exhausted when the law of the 
place " is clear that no contract or debt can be created 
without the authority of the councils and an appropria- 
tion to meet it." Wages cannot be recovered on a void 
contract. In Iowa a contract must be approved by the 
president of the school board ; and where he refused to 
•do so a teacher was not allowed to recover although she 
proceeded to teach under control of the subdirector 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 213 

hiring her and completed her term of instruction. If a 
teacher is discharged on the ground of incompetency he 
must use all proper means for his vindication and rein- 
statement before the courts will entertain a suit for the 
recovery of wages. Then the question of competency 
will be one for the jury. Of course he cannot recover if 
found incompetent ; for, " if a teacher, although he has 
been employed for a definite length of time, proves to be 
incompetent and unable to teach the branches of instruc- 
tion he has been employed to teach, either from a lack of 
learning or from an utter want of capacity to impart his 
learning to others, or if in any other respect he fails to 
perform the obligations resting upon him as such teacher, 
whether arising from the express terms of his contract 
or by necessary implication, he has broken the agreement 
on his part." For teaching done in defiance of a decision 
of removal no right whatever accrues to compensation 
out of the public fund. In a Mississippi case a teacher 
recovered wages for services rendered after the revocation 
of his license by the county superintendent in opposition 
to the wishes of the contracting board of trustees, the court 
saying that " after the vacation of the certificate the relator 
was not competent to make a new engagement to teach, 
but could continue to execute an existing contract, 
unless the local trustees co-operated with the superintend- 
ent to vacate the contract." 

SAME. 

Section 5. The failure to make required reports de- 
stroys the right to recover wages, and a statute requiring 
teachers to make specified entries in a register applies to 
a principal of a number of schools, although he has done 
no actual teaching. If the omission of entries is through 
no fault of the teacher, it will not prevent the recovery 
of wa2fes. This rule was stated as follows in a case in 



214 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

which a teacher did not complete her school and made 
none of the entries required by statute to be made at the 
close of a school: " ihe close of school there meant must 
be the close of the term of school ; for the answers to the 
inquiries required to be entered relate to the whole term, 
and could not be answered till the close of it. If the 
school stopped before the close of the term through the 
fault of the teacher, then the plaintiff would not be 
entitled to recovery, whether she made the necessary 
entries in the register or not; but if the prudential com- 
mittee, by his own conduct, without her fault, prevented 
the close of the term being reached by her, so she could 
make the enterics, then the want of them would not 
prevent the recovery of the wages." 

SAME. WHEN POSSIBLE. 

Section 6. A teacher can recover wages for services 
rendered while he holds a certificate irregularly given. 
The certificate is in the nature of a commission, and 
cannot be attacked collaterally, though it does not cor- 
respond to the form in which the statute says it may be 
drawn and was given without an examination of the 
candidate. 

In a Nebraska case a teacher was without a certificate 
three months during a term of nine months and recov- 
ered wages " It is true," said the court, " that the 
statute prohibits the school board from paying from the 
school fund any but qualified teachers and makes a certifi- 
cate or diploma, issued in the manner directed, the only 
evidence of such qualification. The prohibition of the 
statute is, however, upon the district board and not upon 
the teacher." 

If a teacher lawfully employed is dismissed without 
just cause, he may recover wages for the whole time for 
which he was employed. The court in Wisconsin laid 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 215 

down the rule as follows : " Unless the discharge of the 
teacher be justified by proof of the fact that he is not 
properly performing his contract on his part, the district 
becomes liable to the teacher for such damages as he may 
sustain by such discharge in the loss of wages for the 
residue of his term." Where a teacher was kept from 
rendering services by the burning of the school house, 
but was ready to teach whenever a place should be pro- 
vided and filled out her register at the end of the time 
specified, it was held that full wages could be recovered. 

SAME. 

Section 7. A teacher can recover wages for the time 
included in legal holidays. Chief Justice Campbell, of 
Michigan, said in a recent case : In regard to deductions 
for holidays we are of opinion that school management 
should always conform to those decent usages which 
recognize the propriety of omitting to hold public exer- 
cises on recognized holidays, and that it is not lawful to 
impose forfeitures or deductions for such proper suspen- 
sion of labor. Schools should conform to what may 
fairly be expected of all institutions in civilized com- 
munities. All contracts for teaching during periods 
mentioned must be construed of necessity as subject to 
such days of vacation, and public policy ; s well as usage 
requires that there should be no penalty laid on such 
observances." If a teacher is employed for a definite 
time, and during the period of his employment the dis- 
trict officers close the schools on account of the prevalence 
of contagious disease, and keep them closed for a tiine^ 
the teacher continuing ready to pjrform his contract, he 
is entitled to full wages during such period. Wages have 
been recovered by a teacher who stipulated in the con- 
tract of employment that she would not instruct certain 
children in the district, and by a teacher who was 



216 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

obliged to give up her school because the committee 
insisted on her allowing a disobedient and unmanageable 
boy to attend. The court said : " The teacher could not 
perform the duties of her employment without maintain- 
ing ] roper and necessary discipline in the school, and 
when all her other means for doing so failed in respect 
to the boy it was her right, and might be her duty, to 
expel him, to save the rest of the school from being 
injured by his presence. It was not the duty of the 
teacher, under the contract, to teach the school without 
maintaining proper and necessary discipline in it ; and if 
the committee insisted that she should have the boy there, 
when she could not have him there and have the disci- 
pline too, it was equivalent to insisting that she should 
teach the school without the discipline, which she was 
not bound to do." 

DISMISSAL. 

Section 8. If a teacher in a public school, although 
employed for a definite time, fails to perform the obliga- 
tions resting upon him, he has broken the agreement on 
his part, and the trustees are clearly authorized to dismiss 
him from such employment. When the school law 
empowers a city board of education to employ teachers 
and remove ihem at pleasure, the provision enters into and 
forms a part of the contract with a teacher for his serv- 
ices for a specified period ; he may be discharged before 
its expiration, notwithstanding the terms of the employ- 
ment. But where the power of discharge is limited it 
ought not to be exercised until notice has been given the 
teacher and proper testimony heard against him. If, at 
a hearing, he does not object to the sufficiency of the 
notice, he will not be allowed to do so afterward. It has 
been held, generally, that the power to discharge teachers 
could not be enlarged by stipulations introduced into the 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 217 

contract of hiring. A school board in Wisconsin 
included in such a contract the clause " We reserve the 
right to close the school at any time if not satisfactory to 
us." The court, in commenting on it said : " We think 
the good order and usefulness of the schools would be 
greatly prejudiced by holding that the boards had such 
power. If the power claimed for the board in this case 
exists and may be enforced, then the public schools must 
be taught to suit the whims, caprices, and peculiar notions 
of the hiring board, and not as the teacher, in the con- 
scientious discharge of his duty, should teach the same. ,, 

SAME. 

Section 9. In New York the State superintendent 
lias general supervision and direction of the normal 
schools, and it is one of his discretionary duties to approve 
the hiring of teachers for them. It has been decided 
that these powers do not authorize him to qualify his 
approval with the words " To continue in force during 
the pleasure of the board and the superintendent ;" for 
"it is not within the power of the superintendent, by 
annexing conditions to his approval of the employment, 
to change the law regulating the discharge of the teachers 
of these schools." 

In Kansas a school district board employed a school 
teacher, and the contract of employment contained, 
among others, a stipulation that, if by the inability or 
neglect of the said A (the teacher) the interests of the 
school shall suffer, the district board shall have full 
power to annul this contract after one month's written 
notice. The court, the chief justice dissenting, held 
that the stipulation was valid, notwithstanding a clause 
in the school law providing that the district board in 
conjuction with the county superintendent may dismiss a 
teacher for incompetency, cruelty, negligence, or inimor- 



218 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

ality, and that under the contract the school district 
board might alone, without any formal trial, and not iu 
conjunction with the county superintendent, dismiss the 
teacher for incompetence and negligence from which the 
interests of the school surfer. " The object of the 
statutes," says the court, " was simply to provide that the 
school district should not so bind itself by contract that 
a school teacher could not be discharged at any time by 
the school board acting in conjunction with the county 
superintendent, for incompetency, cruelty, negligence, or 
immorality ; and it was not intended to prohibit the 
sc'iojI board from making other provisions for the dis- 
charge of an incompetent, cruel, negligent, or immoral 
teacher." 

COMPLAINTS AGAINST CANDIDATES FOR TEACHERS 
POSITIONS. 

Section 10. A communication made by persons inter- 
ested in a particular school to the superintendent having 
jurisdiction over it for the sole purpose of preventing him 
from issuing a license to teach the school to a particular 
individual on the ground that he was of bad moral char- 
acter and wholly unfit to teach and have the care of a 
district school, is a privileged communication, and was 
abundantly justified by proof that he was an habitual 
blasphemer and profane person and an open violator of 
the Sabbath. The court said: We do not think any 
superintendent would need vindication for being dis- 
satisfied with the moral character of a teacher who has 
the faults complained of by these parties who opposed 
the licensing of plaintiff. A superintendent who should 
subject young children to such influences would be very 
censurable." The right to remonstrate must not be 
made the means of gratifying malice and enmity, 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 219 

and inquiry may be made as to the motives and private 
purposes of petitioners. 

STUDIES. 

Section 11. The principal questions under this head 
which have been before the courts recently are how far a 
parent cati control the studies of his child and whether 
" other branches/' mentioned in a statute after an- 
enumeration of English studies, would include German. 
The court answered the latter question affirmatively, tak- 
ing judicial notice of the practice and policy of the State 
to allow the study of German and of the omission of the 
legislature to prohibit the instruction of pupils in that 
language. The former question has been answered in 
two States, Illinois and Wisconsin. In Illinois the court 
said: "No parent has the right to demand that the 
interests of the children of others shall be sacrificed for 
the interests of his child ; and he cannot, consequently, 
insist that his child shall be placed or kept in particular 
classes, when by so doing others will be retarded in the 
advancement they would otherwise make ; or that his 
child shall be taught studies not in the prescribed course 
of the school or be allowed to use a text book different 
from that decided to be used in the school, or that he 
shall be allowed to adopt methods of study that interfere 
with others in their study. * * * The policy of our 
law has ever been to recognize the right of the parent to 
determine to what extent his child shall be educated dur- 
ing minority, presuming that his natural affections and 
superior opportunities of knowing the physical and mental 
capabilities and future prospects of his child will insure 
the adoption of that course which will most effectually 
promote the child's welfare. The policy of the school 
law is only to withdraw from the parent the right to 
select the branches to be studied by the child to the 



220 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

extent that the exercise of that right would interfere with 
the system of instruction prescribed for the school, and 
its efficiency in imparting education to all entitled to 
share in its benefits. No particular branch of study is 
compulsory upon those who attend school." In Wiscon- 
sin the court said: "Now, we can see no reason what- 
ever for denying to the father the right to direct what 
studies, included in the prescribed course, his child shall 
take. He is as likely to know the health, temperament, 
aptitudes, and deficiencies of his child as the teacher, and 
how long he can send him to school. All these matters 
ought to be considered in determining the question what 
particular studies the child should pursue at a given 
term." 

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT. 

Section 12. In the absence of statutory enactments, 
the authorities upon the right of a teacher to inflict 
reasonable chastisement upon a pupil are not numerous, 
but they are sufficient to prove its existence. The law is 
well settled that the teacher has the right to exact from 
his pupils obedience to his lawful and reasonable com- 
mands, and to punish disobedience, with kindness, pru- 
dence, and propriety." Any punishment with a rod which 
leaves marks and welts on the person of the pupil for 
two months afterward, or much less time, is immoderate 
and excessive. Proof that the punishment was for an 
insufficient cause or in an unreasonable manner will be 
received to rebut the presumption to the contrary. In no 
case can the punishment be justifiable unless it is inflicted 
for some definite offence which the pupil has committed 
and the pupil is given to understand why he is punished. 
" Punishment inflicted when tha reason of it is unknown 
to the punished is subversive, and not promotive, of the 
true objects of punishment.'' It must not be inflicted 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 221 

for obedience to the lawful directions of a paient. The 
authority to chastise extends to a pupil who has attained 
his majority ; for by voluntarily attending school he 
waives any privilege and submits himself to like disci- 
pline with those that are within school age. A member 
of a school committee may eject a pupil from the school- 
house for insulting conduct toward him. This was 
decided in a Connecticut case, stated by the judge in his 
opinion, as follows : " The defendant, being at the 
school-house performing certain duties connected with 
the school, called the attention of the plaintiff to certain 
acts, not especially culpable in character, which he 
acknowledged he had committed. His bearing and man- 
ner were insolent and offensive, and the language in 
which he indulged was grossly profane. Such language, 
reprehensible at all times, should not have been allowed 
to pass with impunity from a school boy of the older 
class, within the walls of a school-house, in the presence 
and hearing of younger pupils. After being told to 
leave, he so conducted that it was proper to remove him, 
no unnecessary force being used to attain that object." 

INSURANCE, REPAIR, AND FURNISHING OF 
SCHOOL HOUSES. 

Section 13. A provision that a school officer shall 
have the control and management of the school-house 
doos not empower him to bind the district by a contract 
of insurance, nor to purchase lightning rods. A district 
can obtain the insurance on a school-house burned, 
although it had been nominally sold on credit by officers 
authorized to sell, because such sale on credit was void 
without ratification by the district. If a house be burned 
the insurance money cannot be obtained by the creditors 
by garnishment; for the property of a school district 
cannot be garnished, nor subjected to a mechanics' lien. 



222 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

Neither a stereoscope with views nor charts containing 
the multiplication tables, forms for business contracts, 
and prominent historical events, are "necessary append- 
ages " to a school-house. A board authorized to purchase 
school apparatus may buy an organ for a school in which 
music is taught as a recognized branch of education. 
Seats may be bought under a resolution directing a 
board to "fix the school-house ready for the winter term." 
The mere fact that seats, maps, globes, etc., have been 
used by the district does not ratify an illegal purchase 
and bind the district for payment. A statute providing 
that a director shall keep the necessary school-hcuse 
furniture in proper order, and that his expenses shall be 
subsequently audited and paid, does not intend that 
money shall be put into his hands previous to such 
auditing. 

QUASI-JUDICIAL POWERS OF OFFICERS. 

Section 14. School officers are usually possessed of 
specially defined powers and should exercise no others, 
except such as arise by fair implication from those 
granted. In many States certain school officers are 
clothed with authority to decide controversies and heai 
appeals. An appeal is not a suit ; and a statute provid- 
ing for the employment of counsel in case of suits by or 
against a district does not warrant such employment in 
case of a hearing before a county or State superintendent. 
The hearing of an appeal and the decision of controver- 
sies and disputes arising under the school law are exer- 
cises of " a visitatorial power of the most comprehensive 
character." The decisions of an officer or board clothed 
with such power are entitled to great weight with the 
courts and are of value in construing the school law 
when it admits of different constructions. In Maryland 
they are summary and conclusive. The manner of con- 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 223 

ducting the hearing of cases by school officers may be 
determined by them in the absence of statutory regula- 
tion. A superintendent may require evidence to be sub- 
mitted in the form of affidavits and the arguments of 
parties or counsel to be in writing, and may refuse a 
personal hearing of witnesses and an oral examination of 
them before him. A board of education need not require 
testimony to be given under oath. " The delicate nature 
of the duty devolved upon the trustees," said Judge Noah 
Davis, of New York, in a case involving the discharge of 
a teacher, " to see to it that unfit or incompetent persons 
are not put or kept in charge of the children who attend 
the common schools forbids the idea of a trial with the 
formality and strictness that belong to courts. It is only 
necessary to suggest that they must often act upon moral 
convictions rather than established facts, and upon evi- 
dence of unfitness, physical, mental, or moral, that would 
not in courts be such proof as would justify a verdict of 
guilt of specific offences or immoralities." If an appeal 
is taken under a statute, the party appealing waives those 
questions which require a judicial review and submits 
himself to the discretion of the appellate body. The 
wisdom of intrustiug school controversies to school 
officers has been approved in several of the opinions cited, 
as will be seen by the following brief quotations : " We 
are satisfied that this supervision of the State superin- 
tendent over the affairs of schools and school districts, 
commonly very fruitful sources of litigation, has been 
most wisely conferred upon him for the public interest, 
as well as for the peace and prosperity of the schools and 
districts themselves." " If every dispute or contention 
among those intrusted with the administration of the 
system . or between the functionaries and the patrons or 
pupils of the schools, offered an occasion for a resort to 



22* SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

the courts for settlement, the working of the system 
would not only be greatly embarrassed and obstructed, 
but such contentions before the courts would necessarily 
be attended with great costs and delay, and likely gener- 
ate such intestine heats and divisions as would, in a great 
degree, counteract the benevolent purposes of the law." 
u A quarrel or a lawsuit in a school district is generally 
not long confined to the original parties. It spreads 
among all the families, it goes into the selection of 
teachers, and injures the discipline of the schools; and if 
the difficulty once takes the shape of a lawsuit, and the 
parties have expended money as well as temper upon it, 
it is still more difficult to settle. Hence the provision for 
a cheap and speedy decision avoiding the delay and 
expense of a lawsuit." 

SAME. LIMITATION OF APPEALS. 

Section 15. A clause in the code of Iowa provides 
that " any person aggrieved by any decision of, or order 
of the district board of directors, in matter of law or fact, 
may, within thirty days after the rendition of such 
decision or the making of such order, appeal there- 
from to the county superintendent." The directors 
of the independent school district of West Des Moines 
had made a rule that scholars guilty of defacing 
or injuring school property should not be allowed to 
attend school until payment of damages or adjustment 
of the case. A child accidentally broke a glass in a 
window. Neither he nor his parents paid for it. Conse- 
quently the child was refused admittance. The case was 
brought before the courts, and the question of jurisdic- 
tion considered. Three judges of the supreme court 
believed that it had jurisdiction ; two, one of them the 
chief justice, dissented. Rothrock, J., in dissenting, said : 
" It seems to me that this is a case where the remedy by 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 225 

appeal is peculiarly appropriate. The controversy is one 
concerning the proper government of the school, and it 
should be determined by the tribunal appointed by law 
to settle such questions. If resort can be had to the 
courts without first appealing to the county superintend- 
ent, and from him to the State superintendent, the law 
allowing an appeal becomes a dead letter and wholly use- 
less and inoperative." The majority decided that the 
subjects of appeal are limited. Beck, J., giving the 
opinion, said: "It cannot be held that decisions and 
orders refusing the allowance and payment of claims 
agamst the district, or construing contracts, or effecting 
the possession of or right to property, when the interest 
of a citizen is affected thereby, may not be questioned 
except upon appeal. * * * It was certainly never 
the intention of the legislature to confer upon school 
boards, superintendents of schools, or other officers dis- 
charging judicial functions exclusive authority to decide 
questions pertaining to their jurisdiction and the extent 
of their power. All such questions may be determined 
by the courts of the State. Hence, when the rights of a 
citizen are involved in the exercise of authority by a 
school officer the courts may determine whether such 
authority was lawfully exercised." 

DIRECTORS, TRUSTEES, ETC. ORGANIZATION. 

Section 16. The first business of a school board com- 
posed of continuing and newly elected members is to 
organize. This is best accomplished ordinarily by effect- 
ing a temporary organization whereupon the returns of 
the election are read or the certificates of the directors 
elect are presented ; and thus all the members participate 
in the permanent organization. If a permanent organiza- 
tion cannot be accomplished, however, because no one of 
the members can obtain a majority of votes for president, 

35 



226 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

it is such neglect of duty as will justify the proper court 
to declare the seats of the directors vacant and appoint 
others in their stead. The official functions of newly 
elected members attach when the full term of their pre- 
decessors has expired; they are then entitled to meet with 
the continuing members and participate in both the tem- 
porary and permanent organization of the board. When 
a board is clothed with authority to decide upon all ques- 
tions relative to the qualifications, elections, and returns of 
its members, its decision that a person is not entitled to a 
seat as a member is final ; and a statement of the reasons, 
upon its records, cannot confer on the courts any author- 
ity to consider a question which the legislature has made 
it the duty of the school board to decide finally and with- 
out appeal. A member appointed to fill a vacancy until 
the next election, " when such vacancy shall be filled by 
electing a person from the district in which the vacancy 
occurs to supply the same," does not hold his office till 
the time ordinary directors chosen at that election would 
begin to act, but his official relations cease with the occur- 
rence of the election. A member appointed to serve until 
the municipal election next ensuing and the election and 
qualification of his successor, continues in office notwith- 
standing an illegal election of a successor. An unac- 
cepted resignation does not create a vacancy. It is the 
right and duty of a member to act until the acceptance 
of his resignation. 

SAME. REQUISITES TO VALID ACTION. 

Section 17. "Trustees can act only in pursuance of 
law ; they cannot be compelled to act unless the law is 
complied with in every substantial particular, nor are they 
permitted to act until it is so complied with. They have 
no power to waive anything that is necessary to compel 
their action. They may not as a matter of grace or favor 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 227 

take territory from one district and add it to another. 
They may do this (and similar acts) only in the cases 
provided by law ; and whatever is essential to be done 
before they are bound to act, they must require before they 
do act." If a board of education is made a body corpor- 
ate, individual members, acting separately, although a 
majority, cannot contract a debt nor direct the issuance 
of an order to pay it. The president and secretary cannot 
act for the board and without its concurrence in matters 
of contract. The concurrence of a majority when duly 
assembled is required to constitute a valid act ; the instruc- 
tion of the court below to the jury, that, " If you find from 
the evidence that two of the (three) subdirectors * * * 
told the plaintiff that she couli continue to teach the 
school under the contract, and that they would call a 
meeting to approve the same, this would be a ratification 
of said contract, and the defendant (district) would be 
bound thereby," has been declared an error. In New 
Jersey it is one of the duties of incorporated trustees to 
employ teachers ; and, in commenting upon it, the court 
said : u The duty of these trustees, in the selection of 
teachers, was not ministerial merely ; thev were obliged 
to examine into the qualifications of teachers and to exer- 
cise judgment and discretion in their selection ; it was 
the performance of an important public duty, in the 
execution of which conference and comparison of judg- 
ments were necessary in reaching proper results. It was 
an act judicial in its nature, and the rule governing 
such bodies so acting is, unless special provision of law is 
otherwise made, that all must meet, or have notice to 
meet, when official action is intended." The action of a 
majority of a school board will not bind the district when 
other members of the board had no notice of the action 
and did not participate in it. 



238 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA 

SAME. 

Section 18. A majority of the votes cast will not be 
construed a majority of those present. If all members 
have had due notice, a majority of those present can 
legally authorize or perform an act, and a contract made 
by two of three members of a committee, where the third 
member either authorized them beforehand to make it 
or consented to it afterward, is valid. It was held in the 
last case cited that it was correct to instruct a jury that 
the contract of two members of a committee would be 
valid "if the third member was notified and requested 
to act and authorized the others to act without him ; that 
there was no necessity of the committee assembling in a 
formal meeting at any particular place ; that they were 
not a board, with a clerk, having stated times and places 
of meeting ; and that, if they all consented to and had 
knowledge of the acts of the majority, that was sufficient 
even if the third member had no notice to be present at 
the time the contract was executed." The proceedings of 
school boards will not be treated as void and set aside in 
collateral proceedings for mere irregularities which do 
not affect the substantial rights of parties. In a Missouri 
case the court said : " There is no doubt that the action 
of the township board was irregular ; but if all of their 
proceedings which are had in good faith can be set aside 
and treated as void in collateral proceedings for irregu- 
larities which do not affect the substantial rights of the 
parties interested, the whole beneficial objects of our 
school system will be paralyzed and rendered inefficient. 
The schools must necessarily in many townships be con- 
ducted by men not accustomed to legal certainty and 
forms, and their action should be upheld when good faith 
has been exercised unless it is in very glaring cases of 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 229 

wrong or where direct proceedings are instituted at the 
time to set their action aside." 

SAME. POWER TO EMPLOY AND DISMISS TEACHERS. 

Section 19. A board of school directors, though a 
corporation, is possessed of certain specially defined 
powers, and can exercise no others, except such as result 
by fair implication from the powers granted. A board 
of education cannot delegate its powers. This was 
decided in interpreting an Ohio provision " that in each 
township district the local directors shall employ teachers 
of the schools in the subdistrict in which they reside/' 
" have power to fix the salary or pay of said teachers/' 
and "shall certify the amount due any teacher for services 
to the township clerk," etc. The court said : " The local 
directors of a township school district are not authorized 
to permit any person to teach or assist in teaching a 
public school under their control unless employed by 
them for that purpose. They have no power to delegate 
the employment of teachers for such schools to any other 
person or persons, nor to provide for the payment of a 
teacher thereof, in any other manner than that pointed 
out." A board authorized to establish and maintain a 
graded system has power to appoint a superintendent of 
schools if his services are needed. If a board is empowered 
to hire teachers and is given the general care of the affairs 
of a school or a district, it has by implication the right 
to dismiss a teacher for good cause, not otherwise. 
Whether boards or committees can make a contract with 
a teacher for a longer time than to the end of their 
term of office has been generally decided in favor 
of such a contract. In a Connecticut case the court 
said : " It would be a novel and most mischievous 
doctrine that the officers who manage the governmental 
corporations of the State could have no power to make 



230 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

a contract which was not to be performed within the time 
for which they were elected to office." The court, in a 
New York case, said : " To limit the right to employ a 
teacher for a time not beyond the incumbent's term of 
office would lead at times to great embarrassments and 
deprive the district of the opportunity to receive the ser- 
vices of desirable teachers. An indiscreet or corrupt 
officer may impose on the district, it is true. The 
inhabitants of a district and patrons of the school must 
confide this power somewhere, and their protection 
is in selecting competent and honorable officers." In the 
case from which this quotation is taken a sole trustee 
hired a teacher for a school year commencing six days 
after the expiration of his term of office, and the con- 
tract was sustained. In Illinois a similar contract was 
not sustained, the court saying : " There is doubtless 
no objection to contracts'for the teaching of terms extend- 
ing for a reasonable time beyond the current school year 
when such contracts are entered into in good faith, and 
not for the purpose merely of forcing upon the district 
an unsatisfactory teacher or defeating the will of the 
voters at the annual election. But we think the spirit and 
intent of the law are clearly repugnant to the idea that 
one board of directors may, by contracts wholly to be 
carried out in the future, divest future boards of directors 
of the power to select the teachers they shall desire for 
the terms to be commenced after their organization." 
In Pennsylvania and Missouri it has been said that a 
contract for the employment of teachers should not extend 
beyond the current year. 

SAME. POWER TO REPAIR, EXPEND MONEY, ETC. 

Section 20. A board can bind a school district by a 
contract for repairs to a school-house, and that notwith- 
standing a given sum was voted at the annual meeting 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 231 

for specified repairs and had been so expended ; the 
direction that " the district board shall have the care and 
keeping of the school-house," the court said, " may not 
imply the right to re-model or improve, but it implies 
the right to do all that may come fairly and strictly 
within the term ' repair.'" " ' Care and keeping,' when 
used in connection with a trust like this, imply the right 
to preserve the building in the condition in which it is 
placed in their custody, to make good the waste and injury 
to which all buildings, and especially public buildings 
like a school-house, are subject." A trustee, in purchas- 
ing a school site, may agree that the district shall build 
and repair the entire division fence. A board may bind 
a district for expenses incurred in securing the loca- 
tion of a highway by its school-house, such expend- 
itures being allowed as " contingent expenses necessary 
for keeping the schools in operation." A school board 
cannot create a debt by erecting a school-house. The 
charter of the St. Josepn (Mo.) board of public schools 
authorized it to make an annual estimate of the amount 
of money to be raised for the purpose of building, repair- 
ing and furnishing school-houses, and required the county 
court to cause the same to be levied and collected. It 
was held that this provision was a limitation upon the 
power of the board to build school-houses, and that 
neither this clause nor another empowering the board 
"to do all lawful acts which maybe lawful and convenient 
to carry into effect the objects of the corporation," author- 
ized the board to create a debt for that purpose and issue 
bonds for its payment. When the qualified electors of 
school districts are intrusted with the power to determine 
what sort of school-houses shall be built and the extent 
of the expenditure therefor, a school board cannot increase 
the expenditure and bind the district for its payment A 



232 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

board may ratify an informal contract for the erection of 
a school-house, if it is one they had power to make in the 
first instance. A contract for the erection of a school- 
house should be made with reference to the funds in the 
treasury for that purpose. The district board has no 
authority to draw orders for the payment of claims so 
arising on a fund which has been proposed but not raised. 
A board must provide for the payment of claims justly 
due and judgments, so far as it can, or the courts will be 
justified in compelling them to do their duty in the 
premises. Trustees or equivalent officers may take per- 
sonal property by bequest for their schools. "Devises or 
bequests to trustees for the purposes of founding a library 
or school create legal and valid trusts." Public officers 
cannot contract with themselves as individuals and can- 
not act judicially on their own interests. They should 
not occupy two conflicting offices. It is a violation of a 
trust for several persons holding together a fiduciary 
relation to others to contract with one or more of their 
own number in matters relating to such trust. The 
members of a school board being both public officers and 
trustees of school property, a contract between it and one 
of its members for the building of a school-house is 
-voidable in equity by the district. It should not employ 
one of its number to oversee the completion of a school- 
house abandoned by the contractor. Public policy will 
not allow property held in trust by committees for public 
school purposes to be taken in execution at the suit of a 
creditor. 

SAME. GENERAL LIABILITY. 

Section 21. School officers are not personally and 
individually liable for the violation of contracts made in 
the course of their official duty. Where trustees had 
violated their contract with a teacher the court said, 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 23& 

"that the mere violation of the contract by the trustees 
in their official capacity, which they had entered into for 
the corporation, did not render them personally and 
individually liable." Being public officers, and contract- 
ing as such, they are not personally responsible, it being 
the law that public officers are not liable on any contract 
they may make within the line of their duty. Suit will 
not lie against an unincorporated board of subdirectors. 
An agreement signed by directors in an official capacity 
and attested by their secretary does not bind the directors 
as individuals and is binding upon the district. School 
officers, in matters requiring the exercise of discretion, 
are not answerable in damages for honest errors in judg- 
ment In Massachusetts it has been said that ordinarily 
school officers are not accountable to individuals who may 
be aggrieved for the manner in which they exercise their 
public functions. 

In Missouri the court said : " School directors are 
elected by the people, receive no compensation for their 
services, are not always or frequently men who are 
thoroughly informed as to the best modes of conducting 
schools. They are authorized, and it is their duty, to 
adopt reasonable rules for the government and manage- 
ment of the school, and it would deter responsible and 
suitable men from accepting the position if held liable for 
damages to a pupil expelled under a rule adopted by them 
under the impression that the welfare of the school 
demanded it, if the courts should deem it improper." 

In an Illinois case the court said : " A mere mistake 
in judgment, either as to their duties under the law or as to 
facts submitted to them, ought not to subject such officers 
to an action. They may judge wrongly, and so may the 
court or other tribunal, but the party complaining can 
have no action when such officers act in good faith and 



234 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

in the line of what the}' think is honestly their duty. Any 
other rule might work great hardship to honest men 
who, with the best of motives, have faithfully endeavored 
to perform the duties of these inferior offices. Although 
of the utmost importance to the public, no considerable 
emoluments are attached to these minor offices, and the 
■duties are usually performed by persons sincerely desiring 
to do good for their neighbors without any expectation of 
personal gains ; and it would be a very harsh rule that 
would subject such officers to an action for damages for 
every mistake they may make in the honest and faithful 
discharge of their official duties as they understand them." 
It is not in the line of duty for trustees to refuse a person 
expelled from a school th-3 quiet en joyment of an exhibition 
held by a literary society of the school in the school 
building. In charging the jury in such a case the judge 
gave an instruction that " to say that a student expelled 
from a school for disobedience to some municipal regula- 
tion should be excluded from attending a prayer meeting 
or public lecture in the school-house or college premises 
for all time to come, without any evidence of improper 
conduct or suspicion of improper purposes, would be an 
exercise of tyranny over his private rights not vested in 
the trustees, directors or professors of our educational 
institutions." If a committee use violence in dispossessing 
a teacher, the person or persons so doing are individually 
liable. 

SAME. LIABILITIES FOR NEGLIGENCE. 

Section 22. A school board is not liable in its cor- 
porate capacity for negligence in the discharge of its 
official duty in the erection and maintenance of a com- 
mon school building. 

In the case cited the court, in an opinion by Judge 
Ashburn, said : " Owing to the very limited number of 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 235 

corporate powers conferred on them, boards of education 
rank low in the grade of corporate existence, and hence 
are properly denominated quasi-corporations. This desig- 
nation distinguishes this grade of corporations from 
municipal corporations, such as cities and towns acting 
under charters or incorporating statutes, which are vested 
with more extended powers and a larger measure of 
corporate life. This superior grade, from the nature of 
their organization, benefits received, and power to raise 
needed funds, are held responsible by the common law 
for private personal injuries caused by their own negli- 
gence or that of their servants, whilst the inferior grade 
of public quasi -corporations are liable for damages result- 
ing from their negligence only where made so by express 
legislation. This grade includes the defendant [board of 
education]. It possesses but limited powers and small 
corporate life ; a corporation in some sense political, but 
in no sense a municipal corporation." A different line of 
argument has been taken in New York, substantially as 
follows : In addition to being a governmental agency a 
board of education is also a corporation. This being so 
the courts have held it responsible for its own contracts ; 
being subject to such obligations, it is difficult to see why 
it should not be liable to an action for the neglect of a 
duty imposed upon it by law. When it is specially 
incorporated it must be so ; for in that way it is raised 
from a quasi into a responsible corporation. Its mem- 
bers become the living agents through which the corpora- 
tion manifests itself, exercises its powers, and is liable for 
neglects. Thus the law stands in New York that a 
specially incorporated board of education is liable for 
negligence in the performance of its duties. As to what 
would constitute negligence in permitting a hole in the 
school-house floor to remain open, Judge Folger, in a. 



236 SCHOOL LAWS OF TOWA. 

case already cited, said : " If, in the proper discharge 
of their duty, they had gone to the building, and, looking 
for defects threatening immediate danger, had found this 
hole, then they would have had actual and personal 
knowledge of it, and would have been in fault if having 
public means to do it they had not amended it. If so 
going they had made so careless an inspection as not to 
see what was so plain, then they would have been faulty. 
If they did not go at all and took no heed of the liability 
to danger from the general and particular defects of a 
building in their charge, which they kept open for the 
use of many people, then they egregiously failed in doing 
their duty." 

TREASURER. 

Section 23. The reception of a treasurer's bond by 
the board of education is a sufficient approval of him. 
He may not receive for school moneys anything which 
the law has not authorized to be so received, and if he 
does so and receipts for taxes on that account he must 
make good the amount. He is the only proper custodian 
of school moneys. His liability is absolute for all funds 
which come into his hands in his official capacity, regard- 
less of the cause of, or circumstances attending, loss. He 
is not entitled to credit for sums paid to a township in 
excess of the funds received for it. The failure of a 
bank where he had deposited funds docs not release him, 
though he was not guilty of any want of care or prudence 
in failing to ascertain its financial condition. The school 
district has no authority to release him from liability for 
money lost or misapplied by him. A stipulation in his 
bond against liability for non-performance occasioned by 
inevitable accident does not protect him or his sureties. 
The liability of a township treasurer is distinct from his 
ordinary liability for township moneys, and he cannot be 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 837 

released from duties or any way affected by the action of 
the township board. In an Iowa case, the court com- 
mented on the necessity of a strict compliance with the 
terms of the bond of a treasurer, as follows : " He is 
bound by the obligation of the bond, not to exercise due 
care and diligence in the discharge of this duty, but to 
perform it absolutely, without conditions or exceptions. 
He is to hold the money of the district. This is the 
provision of the law. His contract, expressed in the bond, 
binds him to the discharge of this duty He will not be 
relieved from the contract by showing any degree of 
diligence or care which falls short of absolute compliance 
with the terms of his contract. His liability rests upon 
the conditions of his bond, and if by them he is required 
to do an act which, without his fault, becomes impossible 
on account of anything occurring subsequently to the 
contract, he will not be released. These rules are applic- 
able to all contracts, and the public interest demands 
that, at this day, when public funds in such vast amounts 
are committed to the custody of such an immense number 
of officers, they should not be relaxed when applied to 
official bonds. A denial of their application in such 
cases would serve as an invitation to delinquencies,which 
are already so frequent as to cause alarm." 

HIGH SCHOOLS. 

Section 24. A decision sustaining the right of a 
school district to levy taxes for the support of a high 
school in which ancient and modern languages were 
taught was rendered in Michigan not long ago. In giving 
the opinion of the court, Judge Oooleysaid: "Neither 
in our State policy, in our constitution, nor in our laws, 
do we find the primary school districts restricted in the 
branches of knowledge which their officers may cause to 
be taught, or the grade of instruction that may be given, 



238 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

if their voters consent in regular form to bear the expense 
and raise the taxes for the purpose." In Illinois it has 
been decided that the high school is a legitimate part of 
the system of schools established by virtue of a clause in 
the constitution which says : " The general assembly 
shall provide a thorough and efficient system of free 
schools, whereby all the children of this State may receive 
a good common school education." The court remarked : 
" While the constitution has not defined what a good 
common school education is, and has failed to prescribe a 
limit, it is no part of the duty of the courts of the State 
to declare by judicial construction what particular 
branches of study shall constitute a common school edu- 
cation." Similar ground has been taken in Mississippi- 
If an act proposed to be done by the proper officers in 
establishing a high school be within the scope of the 
authority delegated, it is not competent for even a court 
of equity to interfere with the exercise of discretion given 
by statute, unless it be clearly shown that the power has 
been or is about to be corruptly used. 

EXPELLING PUPILS FROM SCHOOL. 

Section 25. a In some cases it is required by the best 
interests of all the pupils of the school. Irregular at- 
tendance of pupils not only retards their own progress, 
but interferes with the progress of those pupils who may 
be regular and prompt. The whole class may be an- 
noyed and hindered by the imperfect recitations of one 
who has failed to prepare his lessons on account of ab- 
sence. The class must endure and suffer the blunders, 
promptings, and reproofs of the irregular pupil, all re- 
sulting from failure to prepare lessons which should have 
been studied when the child's time was occupied by di- 
rection of the parent in work or visiting. 

"Tardiness, that is, arriving late, is a direct injury to 



SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 239 

the whole school. The confusion of hurrying to seats, 
gathering together of books, etc., by tardy ones, at a 
time when all should be at study, cannot fail to greatly 
impede the progress of those who are regular and prompt 
in attendance. The rule requiring prompt and regular 
attendance is demanded for the good of the whole school." 
In the Vermont decision it was said that in case of 
casual sickness of the scholar ; of sickness or death in 
the family of the scholar ; of some impediment, like fire 
or flood ; and in case of various incidents of current life, 
giving occasion for temporary detention, the enforcement 
of the penalty of exclusion for unexcused absence would 
be adjudged to be unauthorized. 

SAME. 

Section 26. A rule which excludes from school a 
pupil for failure to pay for injuries accidentally done the 
school-house is not authorized by a clause permitting 
suspension of a pupil for a breach of discipline or an 
offence against good order. The court said : " The 
State does not deprive its citizens of their property, or 
their liberty, or any of their rights except as a punish- 
ment for a crime. It would be very harsh and obviously 
unjust to deprive a child of education for the reason that 
through accident and without intention of wrong he 
destroyed property of the school district. Doubtless a 
child may be expelled from school as a punishment for 
breach of discipline or for offences against good morals, 
but not for innocent acts." A rule that would bar the 
doors of a school-house against little children, who come 
a great distance in cold, winter weather, for no other 
reason than that they are a few minutes tardy, is unrea- 
sonable and therefore unlawful. 

SUSPENSION OF PUPILS IN THE ABSENCE OF RULES. 

Section 27. The law governing the suspension of 



240 SCHOOL LAWS OF IOWA. 

pupils by a teacher in cases where no rule requiring it 
exists has been clearly stated recently in Wisconsin in an 
opinion by Judge Lyon, from which the following ex- 
tended quotation is taken : " While the principal or 
teacher in charge of a public school is subordinate to 
the school board or board of education of his district or 
city, and must enforce rules and regulations adopted by 
the board for the government of the school, and execute 
all its lawful orders in that behalf, he does not derive all 
his power and authority in the school and over his pupils 
from the affirmative action of the board He stands for 
the time being in loco parentis to his pupils, and, because 
of that relation, he must necessarily exercise authority 
over them in many things concerning which the board 
may have remained silent. In the school, as in the 
family, there exist on the part of the pupils the obliga- 
tions of obedience to lawful commands, subordination, 
civil deportment, respect for the rights of other pupils, 
and fidelity to duty. These obligations are inherent in 
any proper school system, and constitute, so to speak, 
the common law of the school. Every pupil is presumed 
to know this law, and is subject to it whether it has or 
has not been re-enacted by the district board in the form 
of written rules and regulations. Indeed, it would seem 
impossible to frame rules which would cover all cases of 
insubordination and all acts of vicious tendency which 
the teacher is liable to encounter daily and hourly. If 
the offender is incorrigible, suspension is the only remedy. 





INDEX TO LAW. 



Accounts, auditor keep, 26 (1781); 

boards examine, 12 (1732); secretary 

keep, 14 (1743); superintendent 

keep. 22 (1769) ; treasurer keep, 16 

(1747), 27 (1784). 
Affidavit, contents, 43 (1831); when 

made, 43 (183 J); filed, 43 (1830). 
Apparatus, purchased, 11 (1729), 35 

(1807); debts. 11 (1729). 
Appeal, from action of appraisers, 43 

(1827); delay work, 43 (1827). 
Appeals, who take, 43 (1829); for w! at, 

43 (1829); time, 43 (1829); to whom, 

43 (1829); basis, 43 (1830); from 
decision of county superintendent, 

41 (1837); to state superintendent. 

44 (1835); to courts, 42 (1827), 44 
(1836); postage, 44 (1836). 

Apportionment, auditor make, 26 

(1781). 
Appraisers, appointed, 42 (1827); by 

whom appointed, 42 (1827); duties, 

42 (1827); report in writing, 42 (1827); 
action appealed from, 42 (1827). 

Appropriation, state institute, 47 
(1584). 

Arbitrators, chosen, 5 (1715). 

Assets, adjusted, 5 (1715), 40 (1820). 

Auditor, apportion tax, 2<i (1781); noti- 
fy president, 26 (1782) ; issue war- 
rants, 26 (1782); forward certificate 
of election, 26 (1783); report, 26 
(1783;; deduct tuition, 30 (1793). 

Billot, box used. 65 (5 ; vote by, 33 
(1801), 36 (1811), 62 (2), 65 (5), 51 
0698). 

Barb wire, not used, 74 (2). 

Bible, not excluded, 20(1764); pupil 
not compelled to read, 20 (1764). 

Board of directors, what constitutes, 

8 (1721), 33 (1802); enter upon duties, 

9 (1721>; organize, 9 (1721), 33 (1802), 
40 (1820); elect Dresident, 9 (1721), :;3 
(1802); elect secretary, 9 (1721), 
33(1802); elect treasurer, 9 (1721), 
33(1S!2); time of election, 8 (1718), 
33 (1802), 5 (1714), 35 (1808); numb r 



Qf members, 9 (1721). 33 (1802); regu- 
lar meetings, 9 (1722); special meet- 
ings, 9 (1722) ; place of meeting, 9 
(1722); obtain highways, 6(1717); 
makecontracts.etc.,9 (1723); adver- 
tise for bids, 10 (1723); carry out 
vote of district, 9 (1723); consult 
superintendent, 9 (1723) ; ta e bonds. 
10 (1723), 11 (1731); select school 
house site, 10(1724); determine num- 
ber of schools, 10 (1724); fix term 
of school, 10 (1724); determine where 
pupils may attend school, 10 (1725); 
rent room, 10 (1725); form sub 
district, 10(1725); establish graded 
schools, 10 (1726); select teachers, 
10 (1725); make rules, 10 (1726); 
adopt text books, 1 1 (1723); purchase 
apparatus, 11 (1729); contract no 
debts, 11 (1729), 71 (1); appoint 
temporary officers, 11 (1730); exam- 
ine accounts, 12 (1732); make settle- 
ment, 12 (1732 ; make statement of 
accounts, 12 (1732); publish state- 
ment, 37 (1813); publish estimate, 
37 (1813); audit claims, 12 (1733); fix 
compensations of secretary and 
treasurer, 12(1733); visit schools, 12 
(1734); aid teachers, 12,(1734); dis- 
miss teachers, 12 (1734); suspend 
pupils, 12(1735); require secretary 
to report, 13 (17.6); establish rules 
for government of sub-director, 13 
(1737); quorum, 13 (1738); restricted, 
13 (1738); act when district is divid- 
ed, 5 (1714); equalize assets and 
liabilities, 5(171j),7i (2); administer 
oaths, 9 (1790); take oath, when, 
29(1790): pav judgment, 28 (1787); 
form nub districts, 30 (1796); change" 
boundaries, 30 (1796); establish 
boundaries, 37 (1812); elect officers, 
37 (1812); submit questions to elect- 
ors, 64 (2); revise election register, 
64(3); appoint judges. 65 (5); can- 
vass vote, 65 (6); provide payment 
of bonds, 41 (1823), 67 (2); insure 



2i: 



from contingent fund, 71(1); con- 
tract no debts fur insurance, 71 
(1); not use barb wire, 75 (3); subject 
to fine, 75 (3); estimate taxes, 24 
(1777;; pay appraisers, 43 (182i). 

Bonds, official, of whom required, 
10 (1723), 11 (1731), 51 (1699 , 52 
(1704), 57 (4); when required, 10 
(2723), 11 (1731), 51 (1699), 52 (17v4), 
57 (4); amount of, 10 (1723), 11 
(1731), 51 (li.99), 52 (1704), 57 (4); 
filed, 12(1731). 

Bonds of indebtedness, district issue, 
40(1821)— ( 82*), 67(1); amount not 
to exceed, 40 (1821); denomination, 
40 (1822i; signed, 41 (1822), 67 (1); 
interest, 40 (1821), 67 (1); time to 
run, 40 (18*1), 69 (3); registered, 68 
(3); negotiated, 41 1 1822), 67 (1), 68 
(2); cost, 68 (2); payment provided, 
67 (2); how redeemed, 40 (18*1); 
when payable, 40 (18*2), 67 (2). 68 
(3), 69(3); payable from, 41(1823); 
issue to pay judgment, 60 (K67 (1); 
to fund indebtedness, 68 (1); vote, 
68(1). 

Boundaries, change civil township, 5 
(1715); sub districts established, 10 
(1725); change sub districts, 31 
(1796); of independent districts 
established, 32 (1801), 37 (1812), 38 
(1814); changed or abandoned, 36 
(1811), 71 (1;; change takes effect, 
31 (1796): superintendent may 
change, 31 (1797). 

Branches, be taught, 20 (1766); teach- 
ers examined in, 20 (1766); required 
for state certificate, 72 (4); required 
for state diploma, 73(4); special or 
foreign languages, 20(1766). 

Certificate of election, by whom is- 
sued, 8 072;)-. 26 (1783), 65 (6); to 
whom given, 8 (1720), 26 (1783), 65 
(6). 

Certificate, county, 20(1766); to whom 
issued, 21 (1767); term to run, 21 
(1767); who may grant, 21 (1767-; fee, 
21 (1769); shall be recorded, 21 (1768); 
revoked, 22(1771). 

Certificate, state, 72 (3); requisites, 72 
(4); by whom issued, 7'* (3); fee, 73 
(6): time to run, 73 (5); registered, 
73(7); revoked, 73 (5). 

Character,teacherhavemoral,21(1767). 

Children, [see pupil]. 

Claims, must be allowed, 12 (1733). 

Compensation, of county supeiintend- 
ent, 23 (1776); of secretary, 12 
(1733); of treasurer, 12 (173 i); of 
teacher, 18 (1"57); directors, 13 
(1738); of trustees of normal school, 
57 (2); of trustees of county high 
school, 53 (1712); of state bo >rd of 
examiners, 74 (8); treasurer of nor- 
mal school. 57 (o); secretary of 
normal school, 57 {3). 



Contingent fund, what constitutes, 16 
(1718;; separate accounts kept, 16 
(1718); used for purchase of appa- 
ratus, 11 (1729.; use to insure, 71 (1). 

Contracts, made by board, 9 (1723); 
for insurance legalized, 70 (1); sub- 
director make, 17 (1753); signed, 18 
(1757); sureties, 10()723); president 
approve, 18 (1753 : president sign, 
13 tl739); filed, 18(1753); advertise 
for bids, 9 ( 17*3) ; trustees of county 
high school make, 53 1 1705). 

Conventions, state superintendent 
call, 45 (1577). 

Counsel, employed, 14(1740). 

County high school, established, 50 
(1697); object, 50(1697); petiiionfor, 

50 (1698), submit question of estab- 
lishing, 51 (1698); vote on establish- 
ing, 51 (1698); trustees appointed, 

51 (1699), 55(1711); trustees elected, 
51 >1700); county superintendent 
president of board, 52 (1701 >; secre- 
tary and treasurer members of 
board, 52(1701); supported by tax, 
52(1702); tax limited, 52 (1702); tax; 
how collected, 52 (1703); treasurer 
give bonds. 52 (1704); site for build- 
ins, 53 (1705); how obtained, 53 
(1705 ; teacher of, 53(1706); students 
assist, 53 (1706); tuition, 53 (1707); 
rules and regulations, 53 (1707); 
pupils from other counties, 54 
(1708); pupils may be expelled, 54 
(1709); annual report of, 54 (1710). 

County superintendent, may not hold 
other office. 2 » (1765); hold exami- 
nations, 20 (1766i; have assistants, 20 
(1766); duties, 20 (1766), 21 (1769). 22 
(1772), 23 (1774—1775), 31 (1797); 
grant certificates, 21 (1767); keep 
records, 21 (1768); hold institute, 21 
(1769); collect fees, 21 (1769); turn 
over monejs, 24(1: 69) ; draw orders 
on institute fund. 22 (1769); deputy, 

22 (1770); revoke certificate, 22 
(1771); reports required of, 22 (1772), 

23 (1775),21 (1769); penalty for failure 
to report, 23 (1773); conform to 
instructions of state superintendent, 
23 (1771); visit schools, 23 (1774); 
compensation, 23 (1776i; file sworn 
statement, 24 (1776); file statement 
with auditor, 22 (1772); receive 
postage and stationery, 23 (1776); 
may change boundaries, 31 (1797); 
appoint appraisers, 42 (1827); notify 
parties of appeal, 44 (1833); admin- 
ister oaths. 44 (1834); try appeal, 44 
(1834); hear testimony, 44(1831); not 
to receive additional compensation, 
44(1836); be president of trustees 
of county high school. 52 (1701); 
recommend plans, 9 (1723); permit 
school year to be shortened, 11 
(1727); require reports of teachers, 



243 



12(1734); receive reports, 15 (1745), 
17 (1751); notified when school be- 
gins, 15 (1744); give certificate for 
special branches, 21 (176(3); serve 
personal notice, 22 (1771). 

County treasurer, pay moneys, 27 
(1784); time to pay, 27(1781); render 
statement, 27 (1784 1; keep tax sep- 
arate. 27 (1784); separate account 
with independent district, 27 (1784); 
books open for inspection, 27 1784i; 
give notice to president quarterly, 
27 (1785). 

Damages, amount of. 42 (1827); where 
deposited, 42(1827). 

Debts, how paid, 35(1807); contract 
none for insurance. 71 (1). 

Decision, be appealed from, 43 (1829); 
of county superintendent, 44 (1835); 
of superintendent of public instrue. 
tion,44 (1835); when published, 4ti 
(1579,. 

Degrees, state university may confer, 
49 (1595). 

Diploma, state university may confer, 
49(1595); board of examiners may 
issue, 72 (3); time to run, 73 (5); 
may be revoked, 73 (5). 

Directors [see board of]. 

Directors of normal school, how 
chosen, 57 (2); number, 57 (2); term 
of office, 57 (2); compensation, 57 
(2); vacancy, how filled, 57 (2); offi- 
cers of board, 57 (3); duties, 57 (4), 
58 (5), 59 (6— 7). 60 (9) 

District, defined, 5 (1713); officers of 
when divided, 5 (1714); assets and 
liabilities, 5 (17 1 5); have corporate 
powers, 6 (1716); meetings of, 35 
(1808), 38 (181 ), 40 (1822), 62 (2), 6 
(1717); how united, 36 (1811), 38 
(1814). 

District township, consists of civil 
townships 5 (1713); left without 
officers, 5 (1714); divided into sub- 
districts, 10 (1725); directors act 
when divided, 5 (1715); no power 
over independent districts, 29 (1792); 
new, organize when, 5 (17i5); of 
assets and liabilities, 5 (1715); 
formed, 35 (1809); arbitrators 
chosen, when, 5 (1715); corporate 
name, 6 (1716); meeting, annual, 6 
(1717); meeting, special. 7 (1717 1 /?); 
powers of meeting, 6 (1717); briug 
suit, 12(1731), 17 (1751). 15 (1746); 
liable for tuition. 29 (1793); formed 
into independent districts, 38 (1814); 
formed from independent districts, 
39 (1817). 
District, independent [see independ- 
ent district]. 
District township meeting, when held, 
(1717); how called, 7 (1717), 14 
(1713); powers of, 6 (1717),7 (1717&); 
officers of, 6 (1717); direct sale of 



property, 6 (1717); determine 
branches to be taught, 6 (1717); 
delegae powers to board, 6 (1717); 
vote tax, 6 (1717). 28 (1718); change 
funds, 7 (1717); change text books, 

11 (1728); hear statement of board, 

12 (1732); direct control of school- 
house, 17 (1753); vote foreign lan- 
guage taught, 2"> (1763); time to 
organize, 28 (1789); length of, 28 
(1789). 

Drafts, president draw, 13 (1739). 

Election, when held, 5 (1714), 7 (1818), 
33 (1801), 35 (1808), 40 (I8i2), 51 
(lt.98). 51 (1700); called by trustees, 
5 (1714), 39 (1816); called by board, 

7 (1717^); called by sub-director, 

8 (1718); notice required, 5 (1714), 7 
(i717fc),8 (1718), 14 (1742), 33 (1801), 
39 (1816), 40 (1802), 51 (1K98); tie 
vote, 35 (1808). 8 (1719); for forming 
independent di-tricr, 33 (1802), 36 
(1811), 37 (1812); how conducted. 34 
(1803): judges of, 8 0719), 34 (1803), 
35 (1808), 65 (6); for abandoning in- 
dependent districts, 39, (1816); for 
establishing countv high school, 51 
(lh98); in town, 63 (3); separate 
polling place*. 64 (1). 

Eligibility, women to school office, 
60 (•)• 

English shall be taught. 20 (1763). 

Examination, time of holding, 20 
(1766); branches to pass in, 2)(i766); 
special branches, 21 (1766); certifi- 
cate given if satisfactory, 21 (1767); 
to be public, 21 (1768); record kept, 
21 (1768; for state certificate, 71 
(1), 72(4). 

Examiners, state board, created,71 (1); 
who constitute, 71 U)» 72 (1); term 
of service, 72 (l); time and place of 
meeting. 72 (2); call assistance, 72 
(2); make rules, 72 (2); keep record. 
72 (.2) ; issue certificate and diplomas. 
72 (3); how paid, 74 (8); render ac- 
count, 74 (9). 

Pee, for examination, 21 (1769); for 
institute enrollment, 21 (1769); for 
state certificate, 73 (6); when return- 
able, 73 (6). 

Fines, from district officers, 28 (1786); 
from members of board, 28 (1786); 
county officers, 08 (1786); how ap- 
plied, 28 (1786); of secretarv, 15 
(1746); of treasurer, 17 (1751); of 
county superintendent, 23 (1773); 
for misapplication of money, 29 
(1791); failure of oirector to make 
statement, 3. (1813). 

Foreign language, may be taught, 20 
(1763). 

Forms, 1. Proceedings of district 
township meeting, 195. 2 Notice 
for annual meeting in eubdistrict, 
196. 3. Proceedings of annual sub 



2U 



district meeting, 197. 4. Certificate 
of election, director, 198. 5. Certifi- 
cate of tax voted bysubdistrict, 198. 
6. Certificate of election, officers, 
199. 7. Notice of district township 
meeting. 199. 8. Treasurer's ac- 
count, 20D. 9. Teacher's contract. 
201. 10. Teacher's term report, 2< '2. 
11. Revocation of certificate, 203. 12. 
Certificate of tax to supervisors. 204. 
13. Notice, permitting pupils to 
attend school in adjoining district, 
204. 14. Affidavit of appeal, 205. 
15. Notice of appeal, 205. 16. 
Secretary's transcript in appeal, 206, 

17. Notice of hearing appeal, 206. 

18. Certificate to superintendents' 
transcript, 207. 

Fund, institute, [see institute]. 

Fund to, a judgment, 61 (1), 67 (1); 
indebtedness. 68 (1). 

Funds, kinds, 16 (1748); how constitut- 
ed, 24 (1777); lack of, 41 (.824); 
keep separate accounts, 16 (1748s 
order specify, 16 (1748;; board to 
estimate, 24 (1777); amount levied 
for each, 24 (1777); permanent, 26 
(1781); secretary to keep accounts 
with each, 26 (L782), 14 (1741). 

German, may be taught, 2l (1763). 

Graded schools, established, 10 (1726). 

High schools, county, established, 50 
(1697); object, 5 J (1697); how estab- 
lished, 50 (1698), 51 (1699). 

Independent district, organization to 
continue, 5 (1713); witnout officers, 
5 (1714); assets and liabilities, 5 
(1715); name, (1716), 6i (4); how 
constituted, 32 (1800 , 36 (1811); cor- 
poration, when notmeant, 32 (leOO); 
contiguous territory,32 (1800); meet- 
ing, to organize, 33 (1802;, 38 ( 814); 
organization completed, 34 (1804 >; 
notice of meeting, 33 (1801); direct- 
ors, 33 ( 18n2), 35 (18U8) ; term of office, 
33 (1802); number of schools, 34 
(1806); government of schools, 34 
(1806); organization abandoned, 36 
(1809); formed from two counties, 
37 (1812); may unite, 36 (1811); man- 
ner of uniting, 36 (1811); change 
boundaries, 38 (1814); incorporate 
towns not affected, 38 (1814); sub- 
divide, 61 (1), 62(2—3); contain four 
sections, 62(1); exception, 62 ().); 
include incorporated towns, 71 (1). 

Indebtedness, not exceed, 40 (1821). 

Industrial exposition, boards may 
maintain, 55 (1); nature of, 55 (2), 56 
(3—4—5); kinds of work, 55, (2), 56 
(5); when held, 56 (6). 

Insurance, legalized 70 (1); boards 
may, 71 (1); paid from. 71 (1); con- 
tract no debts for, 71(1). 

Insttute, schools closed. 19 (1762); 
teachers attend, 19 ( .6-0; shall be 



held, 21 (1769); time of holding, 21 
(1769). 47 (1584); assistance, 21 
(1769); expenses, 21 (1709); fee, 21 
(1769); slate aid, 47 (1584); appointed 
by, 47 (15b4); length, 47 (1584). 

Institute fund, how constituted, 21 
(1709). 47 (1584); disbursed, 22(1769); 
transferred, 48 ('584). 

Interest rate on bonds, 40 (1821), 68 
(1); be paid, 67 (2); orders bear, 41 
(1824); when paid. 40(1821), 67(1); 
rate to counties, 66 (3); on interest, 
66 (2); failure to vote, 41 (1823); rate 
of on permanent school fund, 66 (1). 

Journal, may take, 46 (1581). 

Judges of election, 3 (1719), 34 (1803), 
35 1808), 65 (5); vacancies, how 
filled, 65 (5); president and secre- 
tary to act, 8 (1719), 34 (1803); secre- 
tary and director, 35 (1808); director 
and elector, 65 (5). 

Judgment, director shall pay, 28 
(1787); district shall provide for 
payment, 28 (1787); board provide 
for payment, 67 (2); to recover per- 
manent school fund, 66 (5); issue 
bonds to pay, 61 (1): issue bonds 
to fund, 67 (1); county superin- 
tendent not reader for money, 44 
(1836). 

Laws, beuublished, 45 (1579); price, 
46 (1579); gratis, when, 46 (1579). 

Language, English be taught, 20 (1763); 
foreign be taught, 20 (1 ,63). 

Liabilities adjusted, 40 (1820). 5 (1715). 

Library, may procure, 7 (1717), 35 
(1807). 

Loan, independent district make, 40 
(1821); how made, 4) 0822); electors 
vote to make, 40 (1822); of perma- 
nent school fund, 66 (6); interest on, 
40(1821); time to run, 40(1821). 

Maps, boards purchase, 11 (1729). 

Meeting, to choose sub-director, 7 
( 1718) ; of township electors, 6 (1717) ; 
of independent districts, 35 (1808); 
of board, 9 (1722). 35 (1808); special 
of board, 9 (1722); notice of [see 
notice"!; to change boundaries, 62 
(1); to vote bonds, 40 (1822); to con- 
solidate districts, 36(1811). 

Militia, service in by minor, 11(1727). 

Money, independent districts may 
borrow, 40 (1821); other districts 
may borrow, 67 (1), 68 (1); misappli- 
cation, j9 (1791). 

Month, consist of, 19 (1761); mini- 
mum of school in year, 11 (1727). 

Name, of independent district, 63 (4); 
may be changed, 63 (4); of district 
township. 6 (1716). 

Normal school, state established, 67 
(1); object of, 56 (1); where located, 
57 (1); directors, how chosen, 57 (2): 
management, 57 (2); officers or 
board, 57(3); how chosen, 57 (3); 



245 



vacancies of board, how filled, 57 
(2); compensation of directors-, 57 
(2); of officers, 57 (3); officers give 
bonds, 57(3); terms of admission, 
58(5); contingent expenses, 58 (*>); 
teac-<rs, 58 (5); tuition, 58 (5); 
boarding, 58 (5); report of board, 
60(9). 

Notice, of financi 1 condition'of dis- 
trict, 37 (1813); published, when, 37 
(1813); posted, when, 37 (1813); for 
hearing appeal, 44 (1832); of readi- 
ness to pay bonds, 69 (3). 

Notice, of meetings, how given, 39 
(1816), 5(1714), 14 (1742), 37 (1812), 
38 (I8'4), 51 (1698), 64 (4); for separ- 
ate polling places. 64 (4); change of 
boundaries, 38 (1814); to establish 
high school, 51 (1698). 

Number, of schools in sub-distriet. 10 
(1724); of schools in independent 
districts, 34(1806); of pupils in sub- 
district, 10 (1725). 

Oath, when taken, 29 (1790) ; by whom 
administered, 13 (1739), 29 (l79i»). 

Officers, deliver papers to successor, 
29 (1791); take receipt for same, 29 
(1791); penalty for not delivering 
papers, 29 (1791); temporary, 11 
(1730). 

Order, specify fund drawn on, 16 
(1748); Designed, 13 (1739), 14 (1741); 
partial payment of, 16 (1748); draw 
interest, 41 (1824); on institute fund, 
22 (1769) 

Pauper children, tuition, how paid, 
63(1). 

Penalty, directors liable to, 38 (1813), 
75, (3); secretary liable to, 15 (1746); 
treasurer liable to, 17(1751); county 
superintendent liable to, 22 (1773). 
See fines. 

Permanent school fund, amount of 
loan, 66 (6) ; management of, 66 (3) ; 
interest on to county, 66 (3). 

Petition, when acted on, 38 (1814); for 
county high school, r>0(1698). 

P.at, of district, 31 (1796); written, 
filed, 31 (1796); description of, record- 
ed, 31 (1796). 

Poll-book, when used, 65 (5). 

Polling places, separate, 64 (1); how 
conducted. 64 (3). 

Polls, open, 28 (1789), 65 (5). 

Postage, for appeal case, 44 (1836); 
county superintendent, 23 (1776). 

President, member of board, 9 (1721): 
vote, 9, (1721): when chosen, 9 
(1721); make drafts, 13 (1739); pre- 
side at meetings, 13 (1739); sign 
orders. 13 (1739); sign contracts. 13 
(1739); administer oaths, 13 (1739); 
appear for district, 14 (1740); call 
meetings. 9 (1.22); temporary, 11 
(1730); vacancy, how filled, 11 (1730); 
c -incur in expelling pupil, 12 (1735); 



approve contracts, 18 (17 7); dismiss 
pupil. 18 (1756); sign warrants. 26 
(1782); certify account, 30 (1733); 
sign bonds, 41 (182.'). 
President of state university, how 
chosen, 49 (1598); member of board, 

48 (1587); report, 49 (1600). 
Principal, of county high school. 53 

(1 706) ; how chosen , 53 ( 1706) ; duties, 
54 ^17091. 

Pupils, attend school, where, 10 (1725); 
in any sub- district. 30 (1795); be 
suspended, 12 (1735); number re- 
quired, 10(1725); teacher for, 5, 10 
(1725); legal age of 11 (1727); 
enumerated, 18(1754); dismissed, 18 
(1756); re-admitted, 18 (175(5); regis- 
ter of attendance kept, 19 (1759): read 
Bible, 20 (1764); attend school in ad- 
joining district, 30 (1794): tuition, 
30(1794): temporary residence of, 
30 (1791); residence, when acquired, 
30(1794). 

Quorum of board, 13 (1738); less num- 
ber adjourn, 13(1733). 

Receipts should be taken, 29 (1791), 41 
(1822). 

Records, teacher keep, 12 (1731); sec- 
retary keep, 14 (17H); treasurer keep 
bonds, 69 (3); county superintend- 
ent keep, 2' (1768); transcript of, 
filed, 44 (1832); board of examiners 
keep, 72 (2). 

Regents of state university, 48 (1587); 
who constitute, 48 (1587); how 
chosen, 48 (1587); make rules, 49 
(159-0; appoint president, 49 (1596); 
elect teachers, 49 (ir.96); fix salaries, 

49 (1596); remove officers, 49 (1596); 
purchase apparatus, 49 (1597); re- 
port, 50 (1601). 

Register, teacher keep, 19 (1759); 
teacher file copy, 19 (1760), separate, 
when, 19 (1759). 

Registry of bonds. 61 (3). 

Regulation, board may make, 12 
(1734). 13 (1737). 

Repairs made by contract, 9 (1723), 

Report of superintendent of public 
instruction, 47 (1583 1; of county 
superintendent, 22(1772), 23 (1775); 
of auditor, 26 (17b3); of secretary, 15 
(1745); secretary preserve copies, 14 
(1741); of sub-director, 18 (1755); 
when printed, 47 (1583); of treasurer, 
17 (1751); president of university. 49 
(1600); board of regents. 50 (1601); 
county highschool, 54(1710); failure 
of county superintendent to make, 22 
(1773);trusteesof normal school,60(«) 

Residence acquired, 30 (1794); tempo- 
rary, 30 (1794). 

Rules, board establish, 12 (1734). 17 
(1753), 13(1787) 

Sale, electors direct, 6 (1717). 

Scholar, [see pupill. 



246 



INDEX. 



School fund, amount loaned to one 
person, 66 (6); interest on, 66 (1); 
interest charged to county, 63 (3). 

Schools, number of, 10 (1724); dura- 
tion, 10 (1724), 11 (1727); graded, 10 
(1728 ; in sub-di-<trict 11 (1727); 
time of, reduced, 11 (1727); board 
visit, 12 (1734); sub-director visit, 13 
(1756); superintendent visit, 23 
(1774); pupils expelled, 12 (1734); 
teacher of, have certificate. 19 
(1753); Bible not excluded, 20(1764); 
attended by pupils from other dis- 
tricts, 20 (1794). 

Scho )l-house, built by contract, 9 
(1723); repaired, 9 (1723); plans for, 
9,1723); proposals to build advertised 
for, 9 (172 J;; built by lowest bidder. 
10 (1724); site of, 10 (1724); sub- 
director repair, 17 (17j3); in charge 
of whom, 17(1753). 

School-house fund, what constitutes, 
16 (1748). 

School orders, [see orders]. 

Settlementof old accounts, 40 (1821); 
with treasurer, 12(1732.) 

Secretary, duties, 14 (1741—42—43), 
15 (1744-4>); qualify, 9 (1721); bow 
chosen, 9 (172 1); when elected, 9 
(1721); post notices, 14 (1742). 39 
(1818); member of board, 9 (1721); 
compensation, 12 (173i); report, 15 
(174.3); notify superintendent, 15 
(1744); file certificate of election, 13 
(1736); countersign orders and war- 
rants, 14 (1741); file transcript 44 
(1832); failure to report, 15 (1716/; 
certify taxes, 24 (1777); 34 (1804); 
vote, 9(1721). 

Site, district hold, 41 (1825); size, 42 
(1825); refusal of owner to grant, 42 
(1827); distance from residence, 42 
(1826;) on highway. 42 (1826); how 
taken, 42 (1827 ; title, 43 (1828); for 
county high school, 53 (1705). 

Sex, either hold office, 60 (1). 

Statement, financial, published, 37 
(1813); when posted, 37 (1813); an- 
nual. 12 (1732). 

Stationery, county superintendent, 23 
(1776). 

State university, objects, 48 (1535); 
course of study, 48 (1585); who ad- 
mitted, 48 1585); terms of admis- 
sion. 43 (1585); not under religious 
control, 48 (1586); how governed, 48 
(1587); regents of, 48 (1587); depart- 
ments and courses of study, 48 
(1589); report of, 50 (1601); confer 
degrees. 49 (1595). 

Sub-director, when elected, 7 (1718); 
31 (1793); take oath, 17 (1752^; failure 
to qualify, 17 (1752); under direc- 
tion of board. 17 (1753); control 
school-house, 17 (1753); contracts be 
approved, 17 (1753); make numera- 



tion, 18 (1754); report to secretary. 
IS (1755); dismiss pupil, 18 (1756)1 
visit schoo , 18 (1756); give consent 
for pupil to attend from adjoining 
district, 30 (1795); administer oath, 
29 (1710); special election for, 5 
(1714); give notices of meeting, 8 
(17 8); when from district at-large, 
9(1721); deliver books to successor, 
29 (1791). 

Sub-district, when organized, 39 
(I817>; when formed, 30 (1796); by 
whom, 3) (1796 1 ; boundaries, how 
changed, 30(1796); when changed, 
30(1796); conform to congression- 
al lines, 31 (1796); plat of, made, 31 
(179o); change of boundaries, take 
effect, 31 (1796): size of, 10 (1725); 
have three directors, 8 (!720>; num- 
ber of schools iu, 11 (1727); how 
taxed for school-house, 24 (1778) ; 
pupils may attend in anoth r, 30 
(1795); meeting, annual, 30 (1817), 
7(1718). 

Sub district meeting, when held, 7 
(1718); 39(1817); notice of, 8 (1718); 
powers, 8 (1719); lime of organiz- 
ing, 28 (1780); vote canvassed, 8 
(1719); hour of meeting, 28 (1789); 
officers of, 8(1719). 

Suit at law, president t) appear, 12 
(1731), 14(1740), 15(1746). 

Superintendent, [see county superin- 
tendent!. 

Superintendent of public instruction, 
general supervision, 45 (1577); hold 
conventions, 45 (1577); attend insti- 
tutes, 45 (1577); lecture and assist, 
45(1577); give written opinion, 45 
(1577); hear appeals 45, (1577); office 
of, 45(1578); file pipers, 45 (1578); 
keep record, 45 (1578); publish laws, 
45 (1579); supply laws, 46 (1579); 
make reports, 47 (1583); print re- 
port, 47 (1583); appoint institutes, 
47 (1584). 

Sureties to bonds, 10(1723), 11 (1731), 
57(4). 

Supervisors, provide room for county 
superintendent. 20 (1766); a'low 
county superintendent additional 
compensations, 23 ( 1776« ; levy taxes, 
24 (1777). 25 (1779), 34 (1804 , 69 (6); 
restricted in levy, 25 (1779), 28 
(1788); make and extend loan, 28 
(1 . 88) ; establish county high school, 

51 (1698); appoint trustees for county 
high school, 51 ( 1698); change bound- 
aries for civil townships, 32 (1799); 
make appropriation for normal 
institute, 22 (1769); pay tuition, 
63(1). 

Taxes, estimated, 24 (1777), 34 (1804), 

52 (1702); when estimated, 24 (1777), 
52 (1702); when levied 13 (1738), 
34 (1304), 24 (1777). 52 (1702); by 



247 



•whom levied, 24 0777), 5} (1702); 
levy limited, 25 (1780); county levy, 
25 (1779;; school-house, 23 (1780.; 
teachers, 25 (1730); contingent, 25 
(1780); how proportioned, 24 (1778), 
25 (1778>; vote mills, 56 (1); to pay 
bonds, 69(6); board vote, 41 (1823); 
certified to, 25(l78J), 34 (18 J4); how- 
payable, 25 (1779); void, 31(1804). 

Teachers, duties, 12 (1734); be dis- 
charged, 12 (.17:14); have certificate. 
19(1758); contract, 18(1757); k.ep 
register, 19 (1759); file report, 19 
(1760); contract with, 18 (1757); keep 
separate register, )9 (1759 1; exam- 
ined, 20 (1766); character of, 21 
(1767); fees, 21 (1769); personal de- 
fense, 22 (1771); of county high 
school, f>3 (1706). 

Teachers' fund, [see fund]. 

Territory, how acquired, 32 (1799); 
restored, 31 (1797), 32 (1798); con- 
dition of restoration, 31 ( 1797). 

Text books, adopted. 11 (1723); when 
changed, 11 (1738); by whom 
changed, 11 (1728). 

Title, how acquired, 42 (1827); for 
school purposes only, 43 (.1828); 
reverts, 43(1828). 

Transcript, be filed, 44 (1832); certi- 
fied to. 44 (1832); when filed, 44 
(1832) 

Treasurer, duties of, 16(1747—49—50), 
17 (1751 1 ; how chosen, 33 (18j2); 9 
(1721); vote, when, 9 (1721); give 
bond, 11 (1731); compensation, 12 
(1735): submit accounts, 12 (1732); 
hold moneys, 16 (1~47); pay on 
order. 16(1748); keep accounts, 16 
(1747); keep funds separate, 16 



(174S), 27 (1784); make partial pay- 
ment, 16(1748); receive moneys, 16 
(1749); register orders, 16; (1750) 
make statement. 16 (1751); book 
open, 17 (1751);. report of, 17 (1751); 
file report, i7 (.1751); fine of, 17 
(1751); negotiate bonds, 41 (1^22); 
6ign bonds, 41 (1822); keep record of 
bonds, 69 (3); aed bonds, 68 (2); of 
state normal school 57 (2); of county 
higU school. 52 (1701). 

Trustees order election, 38 (1814), 39 
(1816), 5 (1714). 

Trustees, county high school, how 
appoin ed, 51 (169!)); county super- 
intendent member of, 52 (1701); 
when elected, 1 (1700); qualifica- 
tions, 51 (1099); term of office, 51 
(1700); give bonds, 51 (1699); duties 
of, 52 (1702), 53 (1705-6); estimate 
funds, 52 (1702); select site, 53 
(1705); compensation, 55 (1712). 

Tuition, when paid, 29 (1793), 30 
(1794); by whom paid, 29 (1793), 30 
(1794); how computed, 30 (1794); 
account for, filed, 30 (1793); terms 
of, 30 (1794); collected by auditor, 30 
(•793); to county high school, 53 
(1707). 

Vacancy, how filled, 11 (1730); 5 
(1714). 

Visit schools, board, 12 (1734); sub- 
director, )8 (i 756); county superin- 
tendent. 23 (1774). 

Vote, tie, 8 ( 1719) ; by whom canvassed, 
8 (1719). 65 (6); by ballot, 33 (1801), 
36 (181 0.62 (2); mills, 56(1). 

Women, eligibility. 60 (1). 

Wire, barbed prohibited, 74(2); pen- 
alty for using, 75 (3). 



INDEX TO APPEAL CASES. 



Appeal The right of appeal is not 
limited to cases of personal griev- 
ance. 139. 

When an adequate remedy. From the 
exercise of ordinary discretion in 
the performance of an official duty, 
enjoined bv law upon the board, ap- 
peal may be taken to the county 
superintendent; but from a refusal 
to act, or from an action thereon 
clearly designed to defeat the pur- 
pose of the law, an application to 
the courts of law to compel the 
performance of the enjoined duty 
will afford the most speedy, and in 
6ome cases the only, 'adequate 
remedy. 160. 

Board of directors. The board should 
be sustained in all legitimate and 



reasonable measures, to maintain 
order and discipline, to uphold the 
rightful authority of the teacher, 
and to prevent or suppress insubor- 
dination in the school. 153. 

Charges, must be fully and clearly 
sustained. 167. 

Contracts, The terms of a contract 
may be changed by agreement of 
the contracting parties. If either 
party seeks to evade or change its 
terms, without the consent and to 
the prejudice of the other, the 
remedy is a suit at law. 149. 

County superintendent must try the 
case upon the basis of facts as they 
existed at the time the board took 
action. 171. 

Discretionary acts. The county super- 



248 



INDEX. 



intendent, having only appellate 
jurisdiction, should not reverse dis- 
cretionary acts of the board without 
explicit and clearly stated proof of 
the abuse of such discretion, even 
though not fully approving their 
action. 139. 

Evidence, parol. Cannot be received 
in the absence of allegations of 
fraud, to contradict or impeach the 
validity of school district records. 
143. 

In the trial for revocation of certificate 
testimony may ba introduced to 
establish the general character and 
disposition of the teacher. 166. 

Having any bearing upon the case, 
even though remote, should be ad- 
mitted on trial before the county 
superintendent for the revocation of 
a teacher's certificate. 170. 

Must be conclusive to warrant the re- 
vocation of a certificate, upon 
charges made against the moral 
character of a teacher. 167. 

In relation to improprieties said to 
have been committed several years 
previous to the trial before superin- 
tendent, is entitled to little or no 
consideration. 167. 

Explanatory notes, force of. Notes to 
the school law. while proper aids to 
the school officers, have not tho 
binding force of law, and a non- 
compliance with them is not neces- 
sarily a violation of law. 136. 

Independent district, formation of. 
The opportunity to vote upon the 
question of forming independent 
districts from the sub-districts of a 
district township ceased July 4, 1876, 
by the taking effect of chapter 155, 
laws of 1»76. 161. 

New trial. A new trial for the revo- 
cation of a certificate must be pro- 
ceeded with as if no trial had been 
held. 162. 

Proceedings. In the absence of proof 
to the contrary, the legal presump- 
tion is that the proceedings before 
the county superintendent were en- 
tirely regular. 136. 

Punishment, right to inflict upon 
pupils. The right of the parent to 
restrain and coerce obedience In 
children applies equally to the 
teacher, or to any one who acts in 
loco parentis. 152. 

Records. The board of directors may 
at any time amend the record of the 
district, when necessary to cor- 
rect mistakes or supply omissions; 
and may, upon proper showing, be 
compelled, by mandamus, to make 
such corrections 143. 

Revocation of teacher's certificate. 



The order of a county superintend- 
ent revoking a certificate will not 
be interfered with on sippeal, unless 
it appears that he acted from passion 
or prejudice. 131. 

Opinions unsupported by facts cannot 
be received as satisfactory evidence 
of prejudice. 131. 

A teacher's certificate can be legally 
revoked only upon proof of charges 
of which he has had personal notice, 
and against which he has had the 
opportunity to make his defense. 
150. 

A person addicted to the use of intoxi- 
cating liquors, who even occasion- 
ally becomes intoxicated. is not like- 
ly to promote correct moral teach- 
ing in the public schools by his ex- 
ample, nor to possess such moral 
character as to entitle him to a 
teacher's certificate. 151. 

Effect of. Conditions made in the re- 
vocation of a certificate must be 
within the jurisdiction of the county 
superintendent, and must apply to 
the whole county. 162. 

Rules and regulations. Boards of 
directors and their agents, the 
teachers, may establish reasonable 
rules for the government of schools 
and the control of pupils. 152. 

The teacher has the right to require a 
pupil to answer questions which 
tend t<> elicit facts concerning his 
conduct in school. 152. 

The pupil is answerable for acts which 
tend to produce merriment in school 
or to degrade the teacher 152. 

Open violation of the rules of the 
school cannot be shielded from in- 
vestigation under the plea that it in- 
vades the rights of conscience. 153. 

Salary of teachers. The salary of 
teachers should be in proportion to 
their ability and responsibility, and 
not equal when these circumstances 
differ materially. 163. 

Control of. The control of salaries is 
wholly within the power of the 
board and cannot be determined by 
an appeal, because it is not within 
the jurisdiction of county or state 
superintendent to order the pay- 
ment of money 164. 

Schools, every person between the 
ages of five and twenty-one years 
has the right to attend school in the 
district in which he resides, regard- 
less of considerations relating to 
race, nationality, the holding of pro- 
perty, or the payment of taxes. 
157 

The payment of school taxes does 
not entitle non-residents to school 
privileges. 157. 



INDEX. 



249 



The board have authority to deter- 
mine when, and upon what terms, 
n. in-resident pupils may attend the 
s-hoolsof their district. 157. 

Scnool privileges. Residence of the 
c lild determines. 171 

All persons under the age of twenty- 
one yeare, entitled to attend school, 
whether married or single. 171. 

8ub-district boundaries, change of. 
The acts of a board of directors 
chang "g sub-district boundaries 
and locating schoo -houses are so far 
discreiionary that they should be 
affirmed on appeal, unless it is 
shown that there has been an abuse 
of discretion. 139. 

At the hearing of an appeal before the 
county superintendent, it is compe- 
tent for him, upon his own motion, 
to call additional witnesses to give 
testimony. 143. 

Taxes. A tax voted by the electors for 
the building of a school-house must 
be so expended by the board. 171. 

Teachers, right of, to inflict punish- 
ment upon their pupils. A school- 



master who stands in loco parentis 
may, in proper cases, inflict moder 
ate and reasonable chastisement. 
The law confides to teachers a dis- 
cretionary power in the infliction of 
punishment upon their pupils, and 
will not hold them responsible 
criminally, unless the punishment 
be such as to occasion permanent 
injury to the child, or be inflicted 
merely to gratify their own evil 
passions. 127. 
When a teacher is dismissed, in viola- 
tion of his contract, an action in 
the courts of law, on the contract, 
will afford him a speedy and ade- 

?uate remedy; when discharged 
or incompetency, dereliction of 
duty, or other cause affecting his 
qualifications as a teacher, he has 
the right of appeal. 159. 
The teacher is entitled to the counsel 
and co-operation of the sub-director 
and board in all matters pertaining 
to the conduct and welfare of the 
school. 159. 



INDEX TO OPINIONS OF ATTORNEY 
GENERAL. 



Action, stay of, 178. 

Alien, hold office, 176. 

Appeal, 175. 181; trial,183; will lie.183. 

Assets, division of, 182, 183; how 
considered, 183 

Indebtedness, evidence of, 176; lax: 
for, 179. 

Independent district, abrogation of, 
178, 182; when organized. 179; divi- 
sion of in town. 179; effect on by 
enlargment of city, 180; consolida- 
tion of, 181 ; annual statement of, 
182. 

Institute, expenditures. 182. 

District township, formation of, 177. 

Funds, loan of, 178, 176. 

Census, of orphans' home, 176. 

Certificate, refusal to grant, 17t; en- 
dorsement of illegal, 176. 

Children, attend school in a joining 
district, 183 

Contract, fulfillment of , 178; in case 

of tire, 180; completion of, 183. 
County superintendent, not an alien, 

Board, but on'-. 178; action of bind- 
in?, 178; certify tax, 181. 

Bonds, illegal issue, 177; of district 
township, 176. 

Boundaries, change of, 175; take effect, 
178; adjustment of, 178. 

Jurisdiction, 181. 



Liability, of person drawing bonds, 

177; of district treasurer. 178. 
Loan, of permanent school fund, 176; 

of school-house fund, 178 
Mandamus, 175 
Officer, removal of, 179; not an alien, 

176. 
Orders, issued only for indebtedness, 

176. 
Prayer. in school, 177. 
Real estate, board not sell, 178. 
Re-districting, by county superin- 
tendent, 175. 
School fund, loan of. 176. 
School-house, use for other purposes, 

175; control of, 183 
Site not changeable. 177; extension of, 
180; legal payment for, 181 ; change 
of, 182. 
Statement, annual, 182. 
Snbdistricts. formation of, 175. 
Tax, 175; illegal, 177; limited, 178; 
for indebtedness, 178; board certify, 
181; certification of, 179; failure to 
vote, 181. 
Territory, transfer of, 176. 
Text books, adoption holds, 182. 
Treasurer, loan funds, 178; liability 

of, 179. 
Note:— The digest of the supreme 
court decisions being arranged 
alphabetically is not indexed. 



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CRITICAL WORDS OF PRAISE 

FOB THE 

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ADDRESS THE 

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